Progress counts, not consumption
- The earned value measures what was actually delivered.
- Full hours against half the progress show up at once.
- No gloss from effort figures alone.
Earned value analysis: measure progress and cost together.
Earned value analysis reads a project on three axes: planned value, earned value and actual cost. From these teamspace works out the schedule and cost variance, the schedule and cost efficiency, and projects the remainder of the project, long before a plain plan-vs-actual comparison shows the drift. Part of project management, with no module surcharge.
Why three values
Hours spent say nothing about progress.
A project can spend every planned hour on plan and still be in trouble if progress falls behind. Earned value analysis therefore measures not the consumption but the value delivered.
Early warning before the close
- Drift becomes visible at the weekly update.
- Not only at the phase end or the month close.
- Time to act while the measures still bite.
Forecast from real performance
- The remainder is projected from performance so far.
- A calculation rather than a hope of better weeks.
- Talks with leadership run on figures.
Method
Three values make a complete picture.
An earned value analysis places three figures side by side at every reporting date: the planned value, the earned value and the actual cost. Only the relationship between the three yields a statement about schedule and budget that the bare hour count cannot give.
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Planned value
The value of the work due by the reporting date, the plan cost as the baseline.
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Earned value
The value delivered up to the reporting date, valued at plan prices. It measures progress, not consumption.
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Actual cost
The cost actually incurred. Its distance from the earned value shows the cost position.
The pivot point
One value, two diagnoses.
The earned value sits in the middle. Read against the planned value it gives the schedule diagnosis, read against the actual cost it gives the cost diagnosis. The same value, two directions of view.
Schedule view Plan ↔ value
Planned value
at reporting date
Earned value
delivered
Schedule variance
− 34 k €
Schedule efficiency
0.74
the same value 96 k € Earned value
Cost view Actual ↔ value
Actual cost
incurred
Earned value
delivered
Cost variance
− 8 k €
Cost efficiency
0.92
One value, two diagnoses: the same earned value tells schedule and cost at a single reporting date.
How teamspace shows it
The earned value sits in the project list.
teamspace shows the earned value figures not in a separate chart but right in the project list, next to plan and actual hours and the margin. One row per project, every value side by side, scannable at a glance even across dozens of projects.
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Plan next to consumption
Planned hours against the hours actually logged, right next to the billable time, so consumption and value sit on one row.
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Progress times budget
Percent project progress times plan budget gives the earned value. For example: 55 percent progress on 660 planned hours gives 363 hours of delivered value.
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Variance in colour
Schedule and cost variance in colour: red when behind, green when ahead. One look at the row, no drill-down needed.
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Filter and export
Groupable by project type, client, phase or owner. Totals per group and overall, export as CSV or Excel for your own analyses.
From the plan to the earned value read.
- 1
Project plan with budget
Phases and work packages with planned hours and cost. The planned value per reporting date follows from how they spread over time.
- 2
Capture progress
Per work package you record progress in percent. The progress of the levels above is worked out from it automatically.
- 3
Capture cost
Logged hours, travel cost and material per work package make up the actual cost, the same figures as for billing and margin.
- 4
Variance and efficiency
teamspace works out the schedule and cost variance and the schedule and cost efficiency, current to the day with every new entry.
- 5
Project the remainder
If performance so far holds steady, teamspace projects the end effort and end cost from it. Early warning on drift.
“Time tracking is far simpler and more convenient than in Excel.”
Plan-vs-actual and earned value side by side.
| Feature | Plan-vs-actual | Earned value |
|---|---|---|
| Hours spent against hours planned | ✓ | ✓ |
| Project progress taken into account | - | ✓ |
| Schedule efficiency as an index | - | ✓ |
| Cost efficiency as an index | - | ✓ |
| Remainder of the project projected | - | ✓ |
| Early warning before the month close | - | ✓ |
| Project log on status change | - | ✓ |
Early indicators
Schedule and cost efficiency at a glance.
Two ratios make the position tangible. Schedule efficiency sets the earned value against the planned value. Cost efficiency sets it against the actual cost.
Above 1 means faster or cheaper than planned, below 1 means slower or more expensive. Values under 0.9 are a clear escalation signal: a project at 0.82 and 0.88 is not slightly behind plan but, without countermeasures, lands well over budget.
20 minutes
We look at your project sizes.
In 20 minutes we talk through your project sizes, your progress logic and the points where an earned value read carries for you. You get a clear first read on whether teamspace fits your setup.
Forecast
Project the remainder from performance.
Whoever sees at the reporting date that cost efficiency sits below 1 can calculate the end position instead of hoping for it. teamspace carries the efficiency so far forward onto the remaining budget and names the expected end amount. The distance to the planned budget shows how much steering the project still needs.
That lets you say early whether a project will land within its schedule and cost. "We'll catch up" is usually not the reality, and the projection shows it before the phase is over.
- End cost if cost efficiency continues as it is
- Remaining effort that still lies before completion
- current to the day, recalculated with every new entry
At a glance
Four figures of the earned value read.
From three captured values come the figures that let you steer a project rather than only describe it.
- 3
Base values: plan, earned value, actual
- 2
Variances: schedule and cost
- 2
Efficiencies: schedule and cost
- 1
Projected remainder of the project
What the read delivers
Variance, efficiency, projection.
Three analysis figures build on one another: first the difference, then the ratio, then the look ahead to the project end.
Variance
How far off is the project?
The difference between earned value and plan, and between earned value and actual.
- Schedule variance in hours or euro, with a sign
- Cost variance in colour, red when behind, green when ahead
- per project, phase or work package
Efficiency
Is the effort creating value too?
The ratio rather than the difference, as an index that stays comparable across projects.
- Schedule efficiency from value and plan
- Cost efficiency from value and actual
- an index that grows with the project
Projection
Where does the project land in the end?
From performance so far the likely end position, instead of a gut estimate.
- expected end cost at stable efficiency
- remaining effort up to completion
- recalculated current to the day
Measuring progress
Progress is measured, not estimated.
The earned value stands and falls with an honest progress figure. In teamspace you enter progress per work package in percent; the state of the phase and the project is worked out from it automatically.
How you set the percent figure per work package is left to your project: by time fraction, by milestones reached or as the judgement of the people doing the work. For critical deliverables the value often counts only on full completion, for work in flight the proportional state.
More from project management
Use cases that dock straight on.
Earned value analysis shares its data with these areas, with no one keeping anything twice.
Project controlling
Plan, actual and forecast current to the day, with margin and warning levels.
Learn moreWork breakdown structure
Phases and work packages as the anchors that plan and progress hang on.
Learn moreMulti-project management
Efficiency and forecast across many parallel projects in view.
Learn moreCapacity planning
Utilisation per person and team, forecast to quarter end.
Learn moreProject billing
Checked hours become the invoice, fixed price and T&M side by side.
Learn moreProject time tracking
Log time on phase or task, the source of the actual cost.
Learn moreFunctions around the earned value read.
Plan and capture
- Planned hours and cost per phase
- Progress per work package in percent
- Progress rolls up automatically
- Fixed price and T&M side by side
- Project log on status and schedule change
Analysis
- Schedule and cost variance current to the day
- Schedule and cost efficiency as an index
- Projected remainder of the project
- Warning levels on critical drift
- Export as CSV and Excel
Part of project management
The earned value read lives inside project management.
Plan, earned value and actual cost are not an add-on module but a view of the projects you run in teamspace anyway. From the work breakdown structure through time tracking to controlling, on one data set.
See project managementWhere it fits
When an earned value analysis is worth it.
An earned value analysis carries where projects run long and progress is plannable. It is effort, and that effort does not pay off on every engagement. It is typically valuable on projects from around six months in duration, where a fixed-price share ties the margin to effort discipline, and on strategically important work where an early escalation counts. In a regulated setting, such as plant engineering, it is often a contract clause anyway.
For short, agile sprints a simple burndown usually does, and for a one-day workshop engagement the method would be overhead. Where it fits, a second point pays off too: because teamspace records every plan adjustment and every status change in the project log, the state at an earlier reporting date can be traced at any time. In a later dispute over fixed-price contracts or in an external audit, that is exactly the reproducibility that matters.
Related modules
Three modules dock straight onto the project.
The earned value read lives on the data of the hour, the invoice and the order. Here are the shortest routes there.
Time tracking
Logged hours are the actual cost that efficiency and forecast compute on.
- Log on project, phase or work package
- Billable or internal kept apart
- Approvals stay traceable
Invoicing software
The same checked hours become the invoice, fixed price and T&M side by side.
- Partial, progress and final invoices
- ZUGFeRD and XRechnung
- Hand-off to DATEV
CRM software
The accepted quote becomes the project that the analysis measures later.
- Quote, order and project linked
- Customer file on the live project
- Shared data, no double upkeep
Intro call
Let's talk through your project steering in 30 minutes.
You show us your project sizes and your progress logic, we show how teamspace turns them into variance, efficiency and a forecast you can rely on.
Frequently asked questions about earned value analysis
When is earned value analysis worth it over classic plan-vs-actual?
An earned value analysis is worth it on projects with a longer duration (more than six months), a fixed-price share and plannable progress. Typical fields are large IT projects, plant engineering, construction and consolidation engagements. For small agile sprints a simple burndown is often enough.
How does teamspace capture progress?
You enter progress per work package in percent; the state of the phases above and the project is worked out from it automatically. How you set the percent figure per work package, whether by time fraction, by milestones reached or as the judgement of the people doing the work, is left to your project.
How does the forecast come about?
teamspace sets plan cost, earned value and actual cost in relation and projects the remainder of the project from them. If cost efficiency so far holds steady, the expected end amount follows. The figure updates with every new entry.
What do schedule and cost efficiency tell you?
Schedule efficiency sets the earned value against the planned value: above 1 means faster than planned, below 1 means behind. Cost efficiency sets it against the actual cost: above 1 means cheaper than planned, below 1 means cost drift. Values under 0.9 are an escalation signal.
How early does the analysis spot a drift?
From experience, well earlier than a plain plan-vs-actual comparison. The reason: earned value analysis takes progress into account, not only consumption. A project that spends hours on plan but delays progress shows up in plan-vs-actual only at the phase end, here already at the weekly update.
How does the analysis relate to project controlling?
Earned value analysis is a method of project controlling. On the project controlling software page you find the general logic of plan vs actual, margin and the traffic-light method. The earned value read adds the progress dimension that is mandatory in many large projects.
Where is the data stored?
All data is processed in certified data centres in Frankfurt am Main, exclusively within the EU. teamspace is made in Germany, hosted in an ISO 27001 certified data centre in Frankfurt and GDPR-compliant. The contracting party is 5 POINT AG, based in Darmstadt.