ACWP Question

[chris.read-smith]

I have a query here that doesnt quite add up for me. Hope someone out
there can help

Resources Work 38 hour weeks
Resources Work 7.6 hour days
Resource Rate $35 / hour
Status Date of Plan 13/12/2006
Status Date of Plan 31/10/2007

Task A

Start Date 29/10/07
Finish Date 16/01/08
Physical % Complete 100%
% Work Spent (Custom Field) 352%
Baseline Work 140hrs
Actual Work 493.75
BCWS (PV) $869.17
BCWP (EV) $4900
ACWP $869.17
SV $4030.83
SV% 463%
CV $4030.83
CV% 82%
CPI 5.64
SPI 5.64

How can the ACWP be the same as the BCWP yet we worked 352% more hours?

 

[Jim Aksel]

Do you have Project calculating actuals? Tools/Options/Calucations tab. We
have better luck wit manual entry of ACWP.
I am more concerned with the large BCWP..... did you earn more than your
baselne? You should be showing a very poor CPI and your SPI should be 1.00
if you are 100% Complete.

Look at your %Complete column which should be 100%.
Tools/Options/Calculations. Click on the Earned Value button, are you using
Physical%Complete? Also, is every task set to Physical%Complete as the EV
Method (Adanced tab on the task information dialog box)?
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Jim

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[Jim Aksel]

Maybe I'm not awake yet, these numbers are not making sense to me.

(American English for dates)
Task Start 29 OCT 2007
Task Finish 16 JAN 2008
Status Date: 31 OCT 2007
You never stated what the baseline dates for start/finish are, so I have to
assume they are the sames as start/finish.

This is approximately 58 work days depending on calendars, etc.
BaselineWork=140 hours. Any worker assigned would be at about 30% unless
controured.

I am getting a BCWS in the $253 range... you are only 3 work days into the
period of performance. Did you have this task front loaded? You put 493.75
Hours into those 3 days... that's about 21 heads. They didn't charge you?

I see where you got the BCWP=$4900, that's 140*35 so that is correct at 100%
Complete. Your SPI would degrade over time as cummulative BCWS increased
towards $4900. SPI=BCWP/BCWS. I show an SPI=19.32 as of the status date
($4900/253).

CPI is another story. CPI=BCWP/ACWP. I challenge the ACWP number with
actual work that high, you should manually enter ACWP as previously posted.
Or, I challenge the Actual Work if ACWP is that low and you are only 3 days
into a 58 day task and claim 100%. The CPI=5.64 calculates from the
information given, but doesn't make sense. There is little chance you did
that much work at that ACWP during that period of performance.

What am I missing?

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Jim

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about Microsoft Project

 

[Scott S]

I think you're using the terms incorrectly. For both BCWS and BCWP, the B
stands for Budgeted.

When you set your baseline you define BCWS for each and every task. When
the task is finished, the BCWP equals BCWS - because they're all about
*budgeted* values. (By definition, SPI is ALWAYS 1 when a task is completed
- because, "completing" a task indicates you've done all you Budgeted to do -
you may have done/spent more, but it wasn't Budgeted.)

Actual cost - ACWP - may be (and regularly is) more than Budgeted cost,
which is where I think your problem arises. Project is automatically
calculating your ACWP based on % complete x BCWS, and it looks like your
BCWP is being calculated from your custom % Work Spent figure (how? a macro?)

I think if you swap your ACWP and BCWP figures it would look a little more
"normal."

Regards,

Scott