LEARN. PRACTICE. GROW.Read performance
Planned value represents budgeted work scheduled; earned value represents budgeted work completed; actual cost represents expenditure. CPI = EV / AC and SPI = EV / PV. An index below one signals unfavorable performance in that dimension. Forecasts should explain their assumptions.
Acceptance and continuity
An operational delivery includes access, monitoring, instructions, recovery, and ownership. A team that can demonstrate diagnosis and recovery provides stronger evidence than an emailed document. Confirm acceptance, open items, and the owner of post-project benefit measurement.
Guided application
Interpret indicators before choosing actions. EV=40 and AC=50 produce CPI=0.8: cost exceeds measured earned value. The index does not identify the cause. An EAC=BAC/CPI forecast applies only when assuming continuing cost efficiency; with BAC=100 thousand euros, EAC=125 thousand. A detailed remaining-work estimate may justify another model. At closure, distinguish installation, operational acceptance, and realized benefit. Request demonstration of access, diagnosis, and recovery; assign remaining work and benefit measurement. The project team may finish while adoption and outcome evaluation continue under an agreed owner.
Indices without inventing delay days
With EV=40, PV=50, and AC=40 in the same monetary unit, CPI is 1 and SPI is 0.8. EV−PV is −10 in that unit, not ten days. To understand the finish date, connect earned-value interpretation with the network, progress, and remaining work. Do not swap denominators or use favorable cost performance to conclude schedule compliance. Each indicator addresses a different aspect of project status.
Closing with continuing accountability
Closure does not require eliminating every future obligation. In a fictional case, a warranty can continue after the project if governance permits closure and an owner explicitly accepts follow-up, resources, and conditions. Apply the same care to residual risk: document acceptance by an authorized owner, its limits, and future review. Handover may be gradual when the rules permit it. If RUN already performs routine tasks independently, reduce support for those capabilities while retaining coverage for an undemonstrated recovery procedure. Before the team leaves, confirm document access in an authorized repository. Accepting the new application does not establish that consumers, archives, and recovery arrangements allow decommissioning the old one.
A project has EV of 40 person-days and AC of 50. CPI = 0.8. If that efficiency continues, a total budget of 100 person-days forecasts 125. Explain the causes and recovery options.
Common pitfalls
Treating CPI as a diagnosis; closing without autonomy or benefit ownership.
Related topics: Suppliers, contracts, and acceptance · Quality, data, and benefits
The project delivers value when the outcome is accepted, operable, and measured.
Reference: Earned Value Management: A Guide to Reading the Numbers · PMP ECO July 2026; DR PMP 2026.5