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Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

J. Art Gowan, Richard G. Mathieu and Mark B. Hey

Sets out to examine earned value management (EVM), a project management technique that relates resource planning to schedules, technical costs and schedule requirements.

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Abstract

Purpose

Sets out to examine earned value management (EVM), a project management technique that relates resource planning to schedules, technical costs and schedule requirements.

Design/methodology/approach

Provides an example of how EVM can be implemented in a data warehouse project and how it can be used as a tool to diagnose and solve problems.

Findings

EVM is based on the belief that the value of the project increases as tasks are completed and therefore the earned value of a project is a measure of the real progress of that project.

Originality/value

Offers a significant analysis of EVM, its benefits and pitfalls.

Details

Information Management & Computer Security, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-5227

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2001

CHOTCHAI CHAROENNGAM and EKNARIN SRIPRASERT

The most important function that facilitates construction organizations to accomplish profit maximization is cost control. However, the absence of a well‐established cost control…

1800

Abstract

The most important function that facilitates construction organizations to accomplish profit maximization is cost control. However, the absence of a well‐established cost control system has caused failures to many Thai contractors especially during the current economic recession period. To comprehensively understand cost control systems in practice, this study theoretically assessed effectiveness as well as the deficiencies of the ‘traditional’ systems vis‐à‐vis the ‘effective’ systems. In addition, by contrasting what are found in ‘effective’ systems but not found in ‘traditional’ systems, critical attributes most contributing to the systems' successfulness were identified so that the improvement steps can be suitably prioritized. The validated findings indicated remarkable contrasts between ‘traditional’ and ‘effective’ systems. Two critical aspects, including advancement of cost control framework and systematic participation of site personnel in cost control, were found to be the major differences. Interestingly, similar conditions were encountered in various countries such as Greece, Pakistan and Australia; hence suggestions from this study could be internationally useful.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 8 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2009

Wichan Pewdum, Thammasak Rujirayanyong and Vanee Sooksatra

The purpose of this paper is to develop models to forecast final budget and duration of a highway construction project during construction stage.

4152

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop models to forecast final budget and duration of a highway construction project during construction stage.

Design/methodology/approach

Highway construction project data are collected and analyzed to find out factors affecting project final budget and duration before developing the forecasting models, research for which is based on the principle of Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The forecasting results obtained from the proposed method are compared with those obtained from the current method based on earned value.

Findings

Factors affecting final budget and duration are presented. The forecasting results obtained from the proposed method based on ANN application are more accurate and stable than those obtained from the current method based on earned value.

Research limitations/implications

Factors affecting final budget and duration may differ if applied in other countries, since the project data were collected in the Kingdom of Thailand. The forecasting models, therefore, must be reconsidered for better outcomes.

Practical implications

The study presents a useful tool for the highway construction project manager to predict project final budget and duration. The results can potentially provide early warning of over‐budget and schedule delay.

Originality/value

The ANN models to forecast final budget and duration of highway construction projects during the construction stage, developed by using project data reflecting continual and seasonal cycle data, can provide better predicting results.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 16 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2016

Hsing-Chun Lin, Shih-Hsun Hsu, Ruey-Wan Liou and Ching-Cheng Chang

The purpose of this paper is to extricate value-added exports in information and communications technology (ICT) industry earned by Taiwan and Korea. Additionally, the authors…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extricate value-added exports in information and communications technology (ICT) industry earned by Taiwan and Korea. Additionally, the authors decompose Taiwan and Korea’s gross exports into various meaningful components.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use the inter-country input-output (ICIO) table which endows with cost structures of industries as well as trade information, facilitating in keeping track of the flow of products and value-added. The ICIO table used in this paper comes from the World Input-Output Database. The authors also use the way Wang et al. (2013) decomposed the intermediate goods exports into various components to provide further insights.

Findings

The empirical results indicate that Taiwan and Korea’s ICT export to the world shrink by 47.8 and 40.9 percent when the trades are measured in value-added terms. Taiwan and Korea’s ICT export will also decrease by 75.1 and 57.8 percent. From the viewpoint of value added in trade, the share of value added embodied in Taiwan and Korea’s gross ICT exports continued to decrease and reached 24.9 and 42.2 percent in 2011, while the components of pure double counted terms kept growing in recent years.

Originality/value

With global value chains flourishing in recent years, conventional trade statistics not only fails to highlight the vertical specialization among different countries, but also distorts the measurement of a country’s competitiveness. This paper extricates value-added exports in ICT industry earned by Taiwan and Korea and bring into focus the importance of trade in value added.

Details

Journal of Korea Trade, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1229-828X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 June 2022

Sahar Jawad, Ann Ledwith and Rashid Khan

There is growing recognition that effective project control systems (PCS) are critical to the success of projects. The relationship between the individual elements of PCS and…

1605

Abstract

Purpose

There is growing recognition that effective project control systems (PCS) are critical to the success of projects. The relationship between the individual elements of PCS and successfully achieving project objectives has yet to be explored. This research investigates the enablers and barriers that influence the elements of PCS success and drive project objectives.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a mixed approach of descriptive analysis and regression models to explore the impact of six PCS elements on project outcomes. Petroleum and chemical projects in Saudi Arabia were selected as a case study to validate the research model.

Findings

Data from a survey of 400 project managers in Saudi’s petroleum and chemical industry reveal that successful PCS are the key to achieving all project outcomes, but they are particularly critical for meeting project cost objectives. Project Governance was identified as the most important of the six PCS elements for meeting project objectives. A lack of standard processes emerged as the most significant barrier to achieving effective project governance, while having skilled and experienced project team members was the most significant enabler for implementing earned value.

Practical implications

The study offers a direction for implementing and developing PCS as a strategic tool and focuses on the PCS elements that can improve project outcomes.

Originality/value

This research contributes to project management knowledge and differs from previous attempts in two ways. Firstly, it investigates the elements of PCS that are critical to achieving project scope, schedule and cost objectives; secondly, enablers and barriers of PCS success are examined to see how they influence each element independently.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 31 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2015

Jacob L. Petter, Jonathan D. Ritschel and Edward D. White

Delineating where stability occurs in a contract provides the window of opportunity for procurement officials to positively affect cost and schedule outcomes. While the concept of…

Abstract

Delineating where stability occurs in a contract provides the window of opportunity for procurement officials to positively affect cost and schedule outcomes. While the concept of a Cost Performance Index (CPI) "stability rule" has been routinely cited by Earned Value Management (EVM) authors since the early 1990's, more recent research questions the veracity of this stability rule. This paper resolves the controversy by demonstrating that the definition of stability matters. We find a morphing of the stability definition over time, with three separate definitions permeating the literature. Next, an analysis of Department of Defense contracts for both cost and schedule stability properties finds that the veracity of the stability rule is intricately tied to the definition used.

Details

Journal of Public Procurement, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1535-0118

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2007

David James Bryde and Roger Joby

The purpose of the paper is to outline a method for reporting project performance that can be used to provide incentives to both clients and contractors to share risks and…

945

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to outline a method for reporting project performance that can be used to provide incentives to both clients and contractors to share risks and opportunities.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual foundation of the paper is two‐fold: firstly, a review of the literature highlights the limitations of fixed price, fixed unit price and variable (fee for service) type contracts and hence the need for contracts that incentivise project clients and contractors to act in mutually beneficial ways; secondly, the earned‐value method (EVM) is discussed as a means of reporting project progress via a single value‐based metric that is applicable to both client and contractor. The integrating of these two elements provides the basis for the method for reporting project performance described in this paper.

Findings

The paper presents the co‐operative incentivised negotiation budget (COIN). The COIN budget uses the concept of the variable (fee for service) type contract. In addition, it utilises the EVM to report project progress in a simple, easy‐to‐understand manner that enables both parties to share in the beneficial outcomes of better than planned performance and to share in the negative results of under‐performance.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is conceptual and, although reporting elements of best practice, further research is needed in the following areas: firstly, the benefits, costs and limitations of, and the barriers to, using EVM‐based approaches in projects in general, and facilities projects in particular; secondly, the effectiveness of incentivising contracts in terms of addressing issues that lead to poor performance, such as poor communication and lack of trust between the parties.

Practical implications

The COIN budget is a means by which the client and contractor can easily monitor performance in terms of the value earned in providing the agreed project deliverables. Whilst enabling the contractor to earn a cost plus margin, it enables both parties to have a common goal through the sharing of the positive and negative consequences associated with project opportunities and risks.

Originality/value

The paper makes an original contribution by integrating elements of best practice in the areas of contract selection and monitoring of project performance.

Details

Journal of Facilities Management, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-5967

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2021

Alexis Barrientos-Orellana, Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez, Daniel Mora-Melia, Maria Carmen González-Cruz and Mario Vanhoucke

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project monitoring and control technique that enables the forecasting of a project's duration. Many EVM metrics and project duration forecasting…

Abstract

Purpose

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project monitoring and control technique that enables the forecasting of a project's duration. Many EVM metrics and project duration forecasting methods have been proposed. However, very few studies have compared their accuracy and stability.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an exhaustive stability and accuracy analysis of 27 deterministic EVM project duration forecasting methods. Stability is measured via Pearson's, Spearman's and Kendall's correlation coefficients while accuracy is measured by Mean Squared and Mean Absolute Percentage Errors. These parameters are determined at ten percentile intervals to track a given project's progress across 4,100 artificial project networks with varied topologies.

Findings

Findings support that stability and accuracy are inversely correlated for most forecasting methods, and also suggest that both significantly worsen as project networks become increasingly parallel. However, the AT + PD-ESmin forecasting method stands out as being the most accurate and reliable.

Practical implications

Implications of this study will allow construction project managers to resort to the simplest, most accurate and most stable EVM metrics when forecasting project duration. They will also be able to anticipate how the project topology (i.e., the network of activity predecessors) and the stage of project progress can condition their accuracy and stability.

Originality/value

Unlike previous research comparing EVM forecasting methods, this one includes all deterministic methods (classical and recent alike) and measures their performance in accordance with several parameters. Activity durations and costs are also modelled akin to those of construction projects.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 December 2018

Tahereh Khesal, Abbas Saghaei, Mohammad Khalilzadeh, Masoud Rahiminezhad Galankashi and Roya Soltani

The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated earned value management (EVM) approach to control quality, cost, schedule and risk of projects.

1277

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated earned value management (EVM) approach to control quality, cost, schedule and risk of projects.

Design/methodology/approach

This study represents a new EVM framework by considering a quality control index. Particularly, some control indices and cumulative buffers are defined by two proposed, methods, namely the linear- and Taguchi-based methods. These methods are implemented in three different projects in different industries.

Findings

According to the results, integration of the quality index creates a better control situation by providing more accurate information. Hence, project managers could comprehensively monitor the status of important factors to make more precise decisions while maintaining the simplicity of their analysis.

Originality/value

From the methodological and theoretical features, this paper offers new visions because, to the best of authors’ knowledge, no comparable study has been conducted before.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 March 2021

Hafiz Zahoor, Rashid Mehmood Khan, Ahsan Nawaz, Muhammad Ayaz and Ahsen Maqsoom

Earned Value Management (EVM) is widely used as a project performance measurement and forecasting technique. Nonetheless, it has not been fully explored in Pakistani construction…

Abstract

Purpose

Earned Value Management (EVM) is widely used as a project performance measurement and forecasting technique. Nonetheless, it has not been fully explored in Pakistani construction industry; where conventional progress reporting methodology (CPRM) is being followed having certain confines. It reports only the financial progress of a project, expresses feeble association between the duration and cost of activities, and forecasts flawed schedule and completion cost. This research implements EVM on under-construction building projects in Pakistan, and compares its upshots with the projects' actual records and with the outcomes of CPRM.

Design/methodology/approach

To assess the implementation of EVM on building projects, a set of specific criteria was established. Work Breakdown Structure, Organization Breakdown Structure and Control Points were established. The study has compared the EVM metrics with CPRM outcomes on three under-study building projects, and has deliberated on their mutual differences as well as their relationship with actual cost and schedule performance. Monthly figures of actual spending and completed activities were periodically recorded and compared with planned values for status indication. The graphs were generated to observe the correlation between the results of EVM and CPRM. The data was then extrapolated to forecast the schedule and cost values at completion.

Findings

The study discovered that trends of EVM in quantifying the project's cost and schedule performance were strongly correlated and were closer to the actual progress. It has also verified the EVM's soundness in forecasting the cost and schedule, required for project's completion. Contrarily, CPRM metrics could not precisely visualize the current and future, cost and schedule performance.

Originality/value

The case study concludes that EVM's incorporation in progress reporting regime can revolutionize the assessment procedures in Pakistan by rightly indicating the project's current status as well as visualizing the future performance. The study's methodology can also be extrapolated in other countries having similar work environment and economic conditions.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

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