A Process-Improvement Method for Implementing Earned Value–Based Project Management in Organizations

Abstract

Project monitoring has become crucial to the success of organizations in an increasingly competitive industrial environment. As such, earned value management (EVM) is an essential part of project cost control. Over the years, the scientific literature has mainly focused on developing mathematical models to improve EVM, whereas very few researchers have examined the implementation of EVM in organizations. Although some standards provide general guidelines for implementing the methodology, they rarely consider the maturity of the organization or the strategy required to implement it. This paper aims to develop an EVM implementation plan method for organizations. The method identifies the activities to be carried out, their sequencing, and the corresponding roles, techniques, and deliverables associated with each activity. The analysis of this phase of the existing situation allows for a consideration of the organization’s maturity level based on a process mapping analysis and its audit of the organization. Relevant recommendations are then identified before defining EVM implementation strategies according to the organization’s needs, constraints, and resources. Interviews with professionals allowed for the verification of the relevance of the recommendations before assigning them to the defined implementation strategies at every stage of implementation. The impact of each strategy on the organization’s processes is mapped and analyzed to determine the expected costs and benefits. The implementation method was tested successfully within a firm.