What Problems may occur when using the EVM Metric?

EVM metric for performance evaluation of a project is mostly based on cost or a suitable measurable value such as time or scope. This is not always the case as other social, political or environmental factors can affect the business as well. Overly relying on measured value can lead to wrong predictions or misjudgement. For information reach us at unemployed professors

EVM metric may not be suitable in scenarios where a project future is based mainly on discovery for instance, agile software development projects. For the case of software development, it may be impossible to schedule plans for in advance because of unknown research findings which may uncover some opportunities that may alter the whole process (Fleming and Koppelman 56).

The difficulty may arise in cases where there is no synchronism in operations. For instance, in cases where operations or tasks take unequal periods to completion. The unavailability of data at expected times might make it difficult to track costs especially when many operations are being carried out (Fleming and Koppelman 123). “The collection of accurate and timely actual cost data can be the most difficult aspect of EVM.”

Sometimes conflicts arise on which or how to take cost measurements. Whether precision or accuracy is to be used can be a big issue as an improper choice may lead to inaccurate measurements that could have adverse effects in the long term. It’s not always easy to estimate the value of items especially those not acquired through purchase and this is often seen as one source of failure.

All in all, unemployed professors highlights that EVM is a suitable way of cost control but not necessarily applicable in all cases. Therefore, for any process or task, it is paramount to conduct a proper test to determine the suitability of EVM in cost control or performance measurement before its adoption to guard against negative outcomes. Generally, EVM works best for projects or processes whose future is predictable or quantifiable.

Works Cited

Fleming, Quentin W, and Koppelman, Joel M. Earned Value Project Management. Newtown Square, Pa: Project Management Institute, 2010. Print.