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Project Management vocabulary · Budget & Cost

Earned value

Meaning in project management, with examples

/ˌɜːrnd ˈvæljuː/nounAdvanced term

In project management, earned value means: The planned budget value of the work actually completed so far. Comparing it with planned value and actual cost shows whether a project is ahead or behind and under or over budget.

In Turkish: kazanılmış değer, hak edilmiş değer

How it is used

Part of earned value management (EVM), used on large and formal projects. It is shortened to EV and used with PV (planned value) and AC (actual cost) to calculate indices such as CPI (EV divided by AC) and SPI (EV divided by PV).

Example sentences

  1. The earned value is lower than the planned value, which means we are behind schedule.

  2. The client's contract requires a monthly earned value report with CPI and SPI.

Common collocations

  • earned value management
  • earned value analysis
  • earned value report
  • baselineThe approved version of a project's scope, schedule or budget, saved so that real progress can be compared against it later.
  • forecastA prediction of how much a project will cost in the end or when it will finish, based on progress and spending so far.
  • cost overrunThe amount by which the actual cost of a project or task is higher than its approved budget.
  • KPIShort for key performance indicator: a measurable value that shows how well a project, team or organisation is doing against an important goal.

More terms: Budget & Cost

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