Earned Value Management

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a systematic approach to the integration and measurement of cost, schedule, and technical (scope) accomplishments on a project or task. It provides both the government and contractors the ability to examine detailed schedule information, critical program and technical milestones, and cost data.

Earned Value Management is intended to provide data from a contractor’s management system to the government in standard data elements that…
Relate time-phased budgets to contract tasks
Integrate cost, schedule, and technical performance
Indicate work progress objectively
Are valid, timely and auditable
Are from the internal system the contractor uses to manage
Are at a practical level of summarization

By using Earned Value and implementing an Earned Value Management System (EVMS), the following questions can be answered objectively:

• Where have we been?
  
• Where are we now?
  
• Where are we going?