Earned Value Management (EVM) Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. With Reference To The Diagram Below, It Can Be Inferred That The Project Is Currently:

Answer :

As of today, AC > PV = over budget and EV < PV = behind schedule, so the project is both “behind schedule and over budget”.

Question 2. If A Project Has A Cost Performance Index (cpi) Of 0.90, This Means That:

Answer :

The Cost Performance Index (CPI) represents the performance of the project in terms of budget up to the moment. If it is smaller than 1, the project is currently over budget (i.e. has spent more than what has been planned).

Question 3. If A Project Has A To Complete Performance Index (tcpi) Of 0.90, This Means That:

Answer :

The To Complete Performance Index (TCPI) is the efficiency needed to finish the project on budget. If it is smaller than 1, that means that we have more money left on the budget than the remaining Planned Value (PV) to achieve. Therefore, in theory, we can spend more money yet can still finish the project on budget. (However, in reality, it is generally preferred to finish the project under budget. A TCPI smaller than 1 is a good sign that the project is going healthy.)

Question 4. A Project With Both Schedule Performance Index (spi) And Cost Performance Index (cpi) Of 0.80. The Project Is Currently:

Answer :

CPI < 1 = over budget and SPI < 1 = behind schedule, so the project is both “behind schedule and over budget”.

Question 5. According To Evm, Which Term Below Represents The Outstanding Amount Of Money Required To Finish The Project?

Answer :

By definition, Estimate to Completion (ETC) is the amount of money we need to put into the project from today in order to complete it.

Question 6. According To Evm, Which Term Below Represents The Budgeted Cost Of The Work To Be Completed To Date?

Answer :

By definition, Planned Value (PV) is how much value of work was scheduled to achieve to date.

Question 7. A Project With Earned Value (ev) = $1000, Actual Cost (ac) = $800 And Planned Value (pv) = $800. What Is The Schedule Variance (sv)?

Answer :

SV = EV – PV

SV = $1000 – $800 = $200

Note that the Actual Cost (AC) is not used in the calculation.

Question 8. A Project With Earned Value (ev) = $1000, Actual Cost (ac) = $800 And Planned Value (pv) = $800. What Is The Cost Variance (cv)?

Answer :

CV = EV – AC

CV = $1000 – $800 = $200

Note that the Planned Value (PV) is not used in the calculation.

Question 9. A Project With Earned Value (ev) = $250, Actual Cost (ac) = $200 And Planned Value (pv) = $350. What Is The Schedule Performance Index (spi)?

Answer :

The formula to be used to calculate SPI is:

SPI = EV / PV

SPI = $250 / $350 = 0.71

Question 10. A Project With Earned Value (ev) = $250, Actual Cost (ac) = $200 And Planned Value (pv) = $350. What Is The Cost Performance Index (cpi)?

Answer :

The formula to be used to calculate CPI is:

CPI = EV / AC

CPI = $250 / $200 = 1.25

Question 11. For The Project With Earned Value (ev) = $360, Actual Cost (ac) = $400 And Both Cost Performance Index (cpi) And Schedule Performance Index (spi) Equal 0.90. The Original Project Budget Is $1,000. Assuming The Remaining Work Will Be Impacted By The Current Cost Performance And Current Schedule Performance, What Is The Estimate At Completion (eac) Of The Project?

Answer :

As the project will be impacted by the current cost performance and current schedule performance,

the formula would be:

EAC = AC + [(BAC-EV)/(SPI*CPI)]

EAC = $400 + [($1000 – $360) / (0.9 * 0.9)] = $1190

Question 12. For A Project With Estimate At Completion (eac) = $120,000 And Cost Performance Index (cpi) Is 0.90. What Is The Budget At Completion (bac)?

Answer :

As no information is given on the future performance of the project, we could safely assume that the project will spend at the same rate.

So we will make use of the formula:

EAC = BAC / CPI

$120,000 = BAC / 0.90

BAC = $120,000 * 0.90 = $108,000

Question 13. You Are The Project Manager Of A Housing Project In Which A Total Of 10 Houses Are To Be Build Over 10 Months (1 House Per Month). The Total Budget For The Housing Project Is $1,000,000. The Project Is Now At The End Of The 6th Month With 5 Houses Built And $500,000 Spent. The Project Is Behind Schedule Owing To A Work Strike For A Month. The Cost Performance Index (cpi) For The Project Is:

Answer :

The formula to be used to calculate CPI is:

CPI = EV / AC

CPI = $500,000 / $500,000 = 1.0

Question 14. You Are The Project Manager Of A Road Paving Project. A Total Of 10km Of Road Is To Be Paved Over A 5-month Period. The Total Budget For The Project Is $10,000. The Project Is Now At The End Of The 3rd Month With 8km Of Road Paved And $8,000 Spent. The Schedule Performance Index (spi) For The Project Is:

Answer :

Since the road is assumed to be paved linearly, i.e. 2km of road per month. At the end of 3rd month, the PV should be $6,000 (for 6km of road).

The formula to be used to calculate SPI is:

SPI = EV / PV

CPI = $8,000 / $6,000 = 1.33

Question 15. For A Project With Earned Value (ev) = $300, Actual Cost (ac) = $350 And Planned Value (pv) = $400. The Overall Project Budget Is $1,000. Assume That You Will Continue To Spend At The Same Rate As You Are Currently Spending. What Is The Variance At Completion (vac)?

Answer :

As the project will continue to spend at the same current rate,

the formula to be used would be:

VAC = BAC – EAC

EAC = BAC/CPI 

CPI = EV/AC

VAC = BAC – BAC/(EV/AC)  =$1000 – $1000/($300/$350)   = -$167

Question 16. For The Project With Earned Value (ev) = $300, Actual Cost (ac) = $250 And Planned Value (pv) = $300. The Original Project Budget Is $1000. Assuming The Project Will Continue To Spend Money At The Same Rate, What Is The Estimate At Completion (eac) Of The Project?

Answer :

As the project will continue to spend at the same current rate,

the formula to be used would be:

EAC = BAC/CPI

CPI = EV/AC

EAC = BAC/(EV/AC) = $1000 / ($300/$250) = $833

Question 17. For The Project With Earned Value (ev) = $350, Actual Cost (ac) = $300 And Planned Value (pv) = $400. The Original Project Budget Is $1,000. Assuming The Remaining Work Will Be Impacted By The Current Cost Performance And Current Schedule Performance, What Is The Estimate At Completion (eac) Of The Project?

Answer :

As the project will be impacted by the current cost performance and current schedule performance,

the formula would be:

EAC = AC + [(BAC-EV)/(SPI*CPI)]

SPI = EV / PV = $350 / $400 = 0.875

CPI = EV / AC = $350 / $300 = 1.167

EAC = BAC/(EV/AC) = $300 + [($1000 – $350) / (0.875 * 1.167)] = $937