This book is about integrated project management. It is not about all aspects of project management but it includes some of the most important aspects. All projects contain three elements; scope of work, a scheduled time frame in which the work must be accomplished, and a budget to perform the work. Integrating these three elements using Earned Value Management provides the basis for effective project management. This book discusses how the planning, control, and management of projects can be improved through the use of Earned Value.

This book presents an integrated approach to monitoring projects in progress using Earned Value and Earned Schedule Management combined with Schedule Risk Analysis. Monitoring and controlling projects involves processes for identifying potential problems in a timely manner. When necessary, corrective actions can be taken to exploit project opportunities or to get faltering projects back on track. The prerequisite is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project baseline schedule. Therefore, monitoring the performance of projects in progress requires a set of tools and techniques that should ideally be combined into a single integrated system. The book offers a valuable resource for anyone who wants to understand the theory first and then to use it in practice with software tools. It is intended for students, professionals and academics with an interest and/or experience in running projects as well as for newcomers in the area of project control with a basic grasp of the Earned Value, Earned Schedule and Schedule Risk Analysis concepts.

This handbook is a unique, comprehensive resource for professional project managers and students in project management courses that focuses on the integration between baseline scheduling, schedule risk analysis and project control, also known as Dynamic Scheduling or Integrated Project Management and Control. It contains a set of more than 70 articles. Each individual article focuses on one particular topic and features links to other articles in this book, where appropriate. Almost all articles are accompanied with a set of questions, the answers to which are provided at the end of the book. This book is accompanied by and is based on the Project Management Knowledge Center (www.pmknowledgecenter.com), an online learning platform for Integrated Project Management.

Meant to complement rather than compete with the existing books on the subject, this book deals with the project performance and control phases of the project life cycle to present a detailed investigation of the project’s time performance measurement methods and risk analysis techniques in order to evaluate existing and newly developed methods in terms of their abilities to improve the corrective actions decision-making process during project tracking. As readers apply what is learned from the book, EVM practices will become even more effective in project management and cost engineering. Individual chapters look at simulation studies in forecast accuracy; schedule adherence; time sensitivity; activity sensitivity; and using top-down or bottom-up project tracking. Vanhoucke also offers an actual real-life case study, a tutorial on the use of ProTrack software (newly developed based on his research) in EVM, and conclusions on the relative effectiveness for each technique presented.

The concept of 'earned value' as a project management tool has been around since the 1960s; although recognized as an important technique and widely used on US Government contracts, it failed to excite much interest in the wider world because of its specifically American requirements and the cumbersome, prescriptive bureaucracy that seemed to accompany it. Recently however, with the advent of suitable software and used in a much more flexible way, there has been a growth in interest among project managers. Crucially it has been recognised that this technique can be helpful in a wide variety of projects of almost any size, not just government projects costing billions of pounds. In essence, earned value allows the project manager a more precise view of actual project performance in terms of both value generated and schedule progress than is possible with any other approach. Alan Webb's concise guide provides practising project managers with everything they need to: ¢ assess the appropriateness and benefits of the earned value process for both their project(s) and their organization; ¢ appreciate, understand and learn the techniques involved; ¢ identify how to apply the data to manage projects with flexibility, pragmatism and rigour; ¢ understand the different features and benefits of the various software packages available; ¢ plan for the introduction of an earned value methodology, anticipating both the systems and people problems they may face. The book uses worked examples, cases and anecdotes from the author's own extensive experience to bring this technical subject to life. Alan's writing style is direct and economical, which means that whether you are dipping into chapters for reference or reading about the process from cover to cover, everything he has to say is pertinent and helpful.

The Practical, Precise, and Proven Approach to Integrated Cost and Schedule Control! This trusted project management resource, now in its second edition, includes expanded coverage of how integrated cost and schedule control works within the federal government. With the renewed emphasis on transparency in government, the processes detailed in this book are particularly relevant. Building on the solid foundation of the first edition, this updated second edition includes new material on: • Project planning in the federal government • Integrated baseline reviews • Federal requirements for an ANSI/EIA-748 compliant earned value management system • Federal requirements for performance reports Integrated Cost and Schedule Control in Project Management, Second Edition, continues to offer a practical approach that is accessible to project managers at all levels. The step-by-step presentation, numerous case studies, and instructive examples give practitioners relevant material they can put to use immediately.