project management glossary

earned value

 A method for measuring project performance. It compares the amount of work that was planned with what was actually accomplished to determine if cost and schedule progress is as planned.

 The Budgeted Cost of Work Performed for an activity or group of activities. What you physically got for what you actually spent; the value of the work accomplished; the measured performance.

 A cost control that allows you to quantify the overall progress of the project in monetary terms. Earned value is calculated by applying a performance measurement factor to the planned cost. Another term for earned value is Budget Cost of Work Performed.

 A method of reporting project status in terms of both cost and time. It is the budgeted value of work performed regardless of the actual cost incurred.

 The part of an activity or project task that has been physically performed, usually represented by the proportional budget value for the part.

 The value of completed work expressed in terms of the budget assigned to that work.

 See also Actual Cost of Work Performed, Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled, Budgeted Cost of Work Performed, Cost Variance, Cost Performance Index, Schedule Variance, and Schedule Performance Index.