CCC CCC Schedule Control & Earned Value Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Earned Value Management (EVM), what does the term 'Budget at Completion (BAC)' represent?
- The total authorized budget for the entire project or work package (Correct answer)
- The amount spent to date on the project
- The forecasted final cost of the project
- The difference between planned and actual costs
Correct answer: The total authorized budget for the entire project or work package
BAC is the total approved budget for the project or work package against which earned value performance is measured.
Question 2: A project's Earned Value (EV) is $400,000 and Planned Value (PV) is $500,000. What does this indicate?
- The project is behind schedule (schedule variance is negative) (Correct answer)
- The project is under budget
- The project is ahead of schedule
- The project has a positive cost variance
Correct answer: The project is behind schedule (schedule variance is negative)
Schedule Variance (SV) = EV − PV = $400K − $500K = −$100K, indicating the project has accomplished less work than planned at this point in time.
Question 3: The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is calculated as:
- EV ÷ PV (Correct answer)
- PV ÷ EV
- EV ÷ AC
- AC ÷ EV
Correct answer: EV ÷ PV
SPI = EV/PV; a value below 1.0 indicates the project is behind schedule, while above 1.0 means ahead of schedule.
Question 4: If a project has Actual Cost (AC) of $600,000 and Earned Value (EV) of $500,000, what is the Cost Variance (CV)?
- -$100,000 (over budget) (Correct answer)
- +$100,000 (under budget)
- $0 (on budget)
- Cannot be determined without BAC
Correct answer: -$100,000 (over budget)
CV = EV − AC = $500K − $600K = −$100K, meaning the project has spent $100,000 more than the value of work accomplished.
Question 5: What is the primary schedule control document used to track project activities against planned completion dates?
- The project baseline schedule with progress updates (Correct answer)
- The project charter
- The procurement log
- The risk register
Correct answer: The project baseline schedule with progress updates
The baseline schedule, updated with actual progress, is the primary tool for identifying schedule variances and making corrective decisions.
Question 6: In EVM, the Estimate at Completion (EAC) using the Cost Performance Index (CPI) is calculated as:
- BAC ÷ CPI (Correct answer)
- BAC × CPI
- AC + (BAC − EV)
- EV − AC
Correct answer: BAC ÷ CPI
EAC = BAC/CPI assumes future work will continue at the same cost efficiency as work performed to date.
CCC CCC Schedule Control & Earned Value Management 1
In Earned Value Management (EVM), what does the term 'Budget at Completion (BAC)' represent?