The Effort by Project trend graph displays the planned, earned and actual labor hours by project for a period of time (start date of project to the current date). On a specific date, if the planned hours exceed the earned hours, the graph indicates that the hours are not consumed as planned. On a specific date, if the actual hours exceed the earned hours, the graph indicates an hours overrun.

To view the Earned Value by Project metric, click Schedule Performance Index or Cost Performance Index. This metric displays the budget that must be spent, based on the amount of work completed on a specific date. This metric also indicates the budget consumption in the future. The Earned Value metric provides the project manager with an effective method to measure performance and predict results. This helps in creating comprehensive progress reports and early identification of overruns. Cost and time allocation decisions can also be made in advance. The Earned Value metric is a useful tool to predict the outcome of projects with regards to time to completion, cost to completion and expected final costs.

This bar chart displays the BAC, EAC, and VAC values for the project selected in the Overall Project Performance metric. Variance at Completion (VAC) value = Budget at Completion (BAC) - Estimate at Completion (EAC). A negative variance at completion indicates a cost overrun. A positive variance at completion indicates a cost under-run.

When the user clicks On Time Performance, by default, the Activity Performance metric is displayed. The Baseline Execution Index is similar to the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) calculation, but instead of amounts, this index is calculated based on the number of tasks. This metric measures only the number of tasks planned and completed during a specific time period. Activity Performance is calculated based on the cumulative no. of milestones / activities actually completed as compared to the no. of milestones/activities planned to be completed on a periodical basis. The user can also view the Milestone Performance metric using the toggle option.

When the user clicks On Time Performance, by default, the Activity Performance is displayed. However, the user can view another metric Milestone Performance using the toggle option. These metrics indicate the progress of the activities or milestone according to the defined baseline plan. The results are displayed on a periodical basis, and are based on the cumulative number of milestones/activities actually completed as compared to the number of milestones/activities planned to be completed.

The cost performance index (CPI) and schedule performance index (SPI) values are calculated using the Planned Value, Earned Value, and Actual Value of the selected project; for the specified period.

Cost Performance Index shows the value earned for the amount spent on the project.

Schedule Performance Index shows whether the project can be delivered late, on time, or early.