The operating question behind the number
Convert an approved budget and assessed physical completion into earned value for a reporting cutoff. The worksheet is narrow by design: it measures the entered relationship and leaves policy choices with the business.
A comparison involving project earned value requires that the model should be rerun when a material record changes, not merely when someone prefers a different outcome.
What a change can and cannot mean
Read project earned value beside the source totals. The result describes the entered relationship but does not establish why that relationship changed.
The evidence status of project earned value matters because a point estimate is usually less informative than a reconciled baseline, current case, and labeled sensitivity range.
Arithmetic used on this page
A repeatable project earned value process assumes that apply the field definitions before the equation. Earned value multiplies budget at completion by assessed physical completion percentage. Consistent classification is part of the calculation, not a cosmetic note.
The source case for project earned value shows that the operating record can continue into the Cost Performance Index Calculator if cost performance index needs measurement.
Within the documented project earned value case, compare reported and adjusted cases side by side if either Budget at completion or Actual cost at cutoff contains a management allocation.
Establish the working dataset
Project controls file: Never let missing Budget at completion become an unexplained Budget at completion zero. Keep a manual-adjustment note beside budget at completion. Never infer Budget at completion from Assessed physical completion; preserve both evidence trails.
Project controls file: Keep the Assessed physical completion definition stable across Assessed physical completion comparisons. Confirm partial-period treatment for assessed physical completion before comparison. Preserve original Assessed physical completion when a later Planned value at cutoff value changes.
Project controls file: Tie Planned value at cutoff to the project cost, progress, schedule, and labor records cutoff used for Planned value at cutoff. Apply the same planned value at cutoff scope when rerunning the case. Reconcile Planned value at cutoff units before evaluating them beside Actual cost at cutoff.
Project controls file: Document exclusions before Actual cost at cutoff reaches its form field. Separate observed actual cost at cutoff from its planning assumption. Keep the Actual cost at cutoff approval trail distinct from Budget at completion evidence.
Read the sample case
The default run uses Budget at completion = $1,850,000; Assessed physical completion = 46%; Planned value at cutoff = $920,000; Actual cost at cutoff = $880,000. Recreate that output once, then replace the entire field set rather than mixing sample and live data.
When project earned value enters a decision, when live values replace the sample, save the calculation date and the source-system extraction time.
Build a repeatable review
Save project earned value with an owner, reporting date, source reference, and short conclusion. The conclusion should identify the next evidence request rather than overstate what the metric proves.
Within the documented project earned value case, where two models share a field, retain one reconciled value and document any legitimate difference in treatment.
Conditions that weaken the result
The owner of project earned value should remember that some decisions require evidence beyond the source fields. project earned value leaves scope entitlement unresolved beside Budget at completion. Evidence beyond Budget at completion is required. Conclusions about Actual cost at cutoff remain separate from project earned value. The model relates Budget at completion to Actual cost at cutoff; future events affecting project earned value are not predicted. Attach those records outside the numerical model.
The calculation of project earned value remains bounded because keep one approved definition for recurring reporting and version it when the business intentionally changes scope.
Questions before relying on the result
When should the calculation be repeated?
In the project earned value working file, create a new version after a material source, definition, cutoff, or assumption change.
Can a target replace an observation?
Once the project earned value cutoff is fixed, no. Keep targets visibly separate from actual or committed operating evidence.
How should manual adjustments be documented?
In a reconciled project earned value result, record the amount, reason, approver, source effect, and date beside the adjusted case.
Does this worksheet supply a benchmark?
For the selected project earned value period, no. Management selects and documents any comparator used for project earned value.
What should accompany the headline?
Against the recorded project earned value population, include the fields, supporting rows, source reference, owner, date, and boundary statement.