Variance

[Paul Peterson - Velox Consulting, LLC]

I'm trying to find a MS Project field that provides me with a true picture of
where I am on a task. I would like to contrast where I am (I use the % Work
Completed for this) vs. where I should be (not sure which field to use for
this) and then determine if I will be able to meet the planned finish date
(this would have to be based on work left to complete, number of resources
assigned to the task, and the number of days from today to the planned finish
date). I hope this isn't too confusing or too hard but I would appreciate
any insight.

Paul C. Peterson

 

[Darrell]

Paul,

If you have set the baseline you can use the "Finish Variance" field to view
how far a task is off of the original schedule, if at all. From there you can
determine what you need to do to correct the variance.

Darrell

 

[Paul Peterson - Velox Consulting, LLC]

Thanks Darrell. That is what I've started using. Combined with the Start
Variance it helps to solve my problem.

Paul.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Paul --

To piggyback on Darrell's excellent advice, I use the following approach for
variance analysis:

1. Click View - Tracking Gantt. This view allows you to compare the
current project schedule (blue and red Gantt bars) against the original
Baseline schedule for the project (gray bars).

2. While in the Tracking Gantt view, click View - Table - Variance. This
table allows you to see Start and Finish variance.

3. While in the Tracking Gantt view, you can also click View - Table - Work
to view and analyze Work variance. When Work exceeds planned Work (Baseline
Work), this almost always results in schedule slippage.

Hope this helps.




"Paul Peterson - Velox Consulting, LLC"

 

[Jim Aksel]

In addition to Darrell's great answer, the Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
also is helpful. There are similary fields for Cost Variance and CPI.
--
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Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com