1、Lessons Learned Entry: 1565Lesson Info:a71 Lesson Number: 1565a71 Lesson Date: 2005-06-07a71 Submitting Organization: ARCa71 Submitted by: Ronald C. Winterlina71 Authored by: Ronald C. WinterlinSubject: Earned-Value Management Abstract: The Agency has aggressively committed to pursue performance tra
2、cking such as Earned Value Management (EVM). However, given the constraints of operating within the restrictions and limitations of a government agency, EVM can be very difficult and in some situations impossible to attain. The Advanced Air Transportation Technologies (AATT) Project made a serious a
3、ttempt to implement EVM and both ATMSDI contractors reported monthly EVM status to the AATT Project Office. Additionally, the Project Office hired an EVM subject matter expert and attempted to track EVM utilizing in-house civil service labor plans and acturals. This was prior to implementation of an
4、 Agency-wide generic full cost accounting system. The AATT effort proved to be labor intensive and would have required creation of over 100 individual job order (account) numbers in the Ames financial system alone in order to accurately capture and track individual task level work plans and actuals.
5、 In fact, Ames financial management organization did not react favorably to the prospect of so many cost accounts for a number of reasons (additional workload being one). Without the necessary level of detail in collecting planned and actual expenses, Earned Value Management effectiveness becomes se
6、verely compromised. The AATT Project found that the level of information gained did not justify the workload placed on the task leads and/or PIs or the AATT Systems Management Staff. The overall lesson learned is that if Earned Value is to be effective, Center and Agency foundations in terms of acco
7、unting systems, resources (both financial and human), tools, and cultures need to be supportive and made fully available. Description of Driving Event: No specific triggering event or mandate here. The AATT Project management staff decided to make an effort on its own to develop an in-house EV syste
8、m that would work with the required ATSDM Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-contractor EV information, as mandated by contact dollar value at the time. Lesson(s) Learned: (Specific lessons from the AATT Projects attempt at EVM) 1. Withi
9、n the Control of the Project: a. Project formulation needs to start with a detailed project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to identify the work packages to be tracked. b. The WBS must be developed with as much detail as possible. It should not be constrained from the beginning based on the level of
10、tracking capability or other accounting system restrictions. c. The level of tracking can be than the level of planning detail, not vice versa. d. Progress needs to be measured at levels low enough to provide accurate information, yet this may be at levels lower than currently planned. e. Activities
11、, objectives, exit criteria, deliverables and performance measures need to be identified early and documented with as much detail as possible. One cannot measure progress if one does not know what they are trying to achieve. f. Each work package to be tracked must have a separate funding cost accoun
12、t to enable the Actual Cost of Work Planned (ACWP) earned value metric to be calculated. g. Quantifiable, objective measures of work package progress are often better than subjective estimates of percent complete, yet they cost more to identify and regularly measure. 2. Outside the Controls of the P
13、roject: a. Project managers need to be provided with reliable labor and overhead rates for each civil servant employee working on the project in order to accurately capture civil servant costs. b. A project?s earned value system should not have to account for or be held accountable for, organization
14、al taxes or Center taxes, which do not directly contribute to the satisfaction of project objectives. c. Performing organizations must task both their in-house and out-of-house contractors within the work package structure such that the contractor expenditures can be tracked to specific guidelines a
15、s they work. d. Frequency of re-base lining the plans is dependent upon outside influences such as availability and stability of resources provided versus planned. Congressional budget cuts, earmarks, etc. will force re-base lining. e. Frequency of re-base lining may be dependent upon having stable
16、requirements, many of which may be provided from outside the project. For example, the AATT Project supports requirements of the FAA. The FAA often changes these requirements, which then impact the AATT Project plans.Recommendation(s): (Actions Required from both within and outside the Project) 1. M
17、ost personnel on the project must be trained in both the generic earned value approach and how Provided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-it is specifically to be applied within the project. They then have to actively participate. 2. Cost accoun
18、t structures and the level of detail to be tracked must support the earned value management system. 3. Each cost account should have a unique identifier to enable an accurate calculation of the actual cost of work performed (ACWP). 4. Formulating an earned value management system needs to cover the
19、entire project life cycle, not just the one-year horizon that is emphasized by the current financial metrics, as this leads to inefficient use of resources, contracting, and ultimately costs the project in performance. Earned Value Management can be a good system for integrating cost and schedule ma
20、nagement and if the objective measures are chosen well, EVM can also integrate technical management. But there is a cost for implementing this system. First, there will be a cost to the Agency and Centers to put the accounting foundation in place to support this system. Then there will be the traini
21、ng costs. Next, there will be a cost for projects to adapt their tracking systems to Earned Value Management. For some projects, this will not be too difficult. For others, their current structure may need a major redesign. Finally, there will be a cost for maintaining the system. There will likely
22、need to be procedure changes and possibly more people to manage the system. Some of these changes also clash with the culture at some facilities, which will require encouragement from the entire management chain (executive, program/project, and supervisory) until it becomes a part of the culture. NA
23、SA may also wish to evaluate whether the full burden of EVM is appropriate for all projects or only for projects that meet certain specific criteria.Evidence of Recurrence Control Effectiveness: Not applicableDocuments Related to Lesson: NPG 7120.5Mission Directorate(s): a71 Exploration Systemsa71 S
24、ciencea71 Aeronautics Researcha71 Space OperationsAdditional Key Phrase(s): a71 Air-Traffic Managementa71 External Relationsa71 Financial ManagementProvided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-Additional Info: Approval Info: a71 Approval Date: 2006-06-30a71 Approval Name: tmasona71 Approval Organization: HQProvided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-
