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NEW:  DOD Proposes to withhold payment to contractors for non-compliance with EVMS:

DoD  is proposing to withhold payment of 10% to contractors that are noncompliant with the contractual EVMS requirements. Additional information and a link to the amendment is available at Dept of Defense .

NEW:  DOD EVM Report to Congress: 

DOD submitted its Congressionally-required report on Earned Value Management, DoD EVM: Performance, Oversight, and Governance (Report).

Report concluded that "The utility of EVM has declined to a level where it does not serve its intended purpose." It includes findings and recommendations regarding:

1. Changes in culture necessary

2. Accuracy of EVM data

3. Technical Performance Measures (TPM).

4. Systems Engineering (SE)

 

The following information is available at the DoD EVM Implementation tab within Dept. of Defense tab.

  • Link to Report
  • Abstract of the Report regarding the above issues
  • Assessment of the Report's merits and deficiencies
  • Recommendations to improve the effectiveness of EVM sent to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and to the Office of Management and Budget
  • Assessment of Industry's input to DoD for the Report   
 
DoD Software Tech News includes 2 Software Articles:
"Agile EV and the Technical Baseline"
"Applying EVM to Software Intensive Programs"

 See Advanced EV: PBEV 

 

New: EVM with PBEV training at Organizational Effectiveness Institute (OEI) , Feb. 18-19, 2010, Washington, DC 

2-day course: Earned Value Management; Principles, Processes & Evolving Federal Acquisition Reforms, featuring PBEV

Finally, EV training is available that covers the fundamentals of EVM but also demonstrates how to link technical performance, or Quality, with EV using PBEV.  See PBEV Live tab for more  information, link to registration, and PBEV discount.

June 15, 2009: New, Interim Defense Acquisition Guide (DAG) includes expanded guidance to integrate Technical Performance Measures (TPM) with EVM and enhanced Systems Engineering (SE) responsibilities for integrated planning.

DAG includes new guidance for integrating TPMs with EVM and the IMS, including contractual TPM reporting. A contractor must now have a TPM plan, defined in terms of expected performance at specific points in the program as defined in the WBS and IMS, the methods of measurement at those points, and the variation limits for corrective action.

DAG also includes expanded responsibility for SE to integrate the technical scope of effort in the WBS, the corresponding event driven program implementation in the IMS, and EVM. The pertinent sections of the DAG are 4.5.4.1, 4.5.4.2, and 4.5.6.1.

More specific guidance and examples for integrating technical performance, or Quality, with EVM are provided in my article, Integrating SE with EVM, in the “PMI Measurable News”. A link to the article is provided at the Advanced EV:PBEV tab. Detailed guidance, practical examples, and templates are in my book, Performance-Based Earned Value®.  A link to DAG is provided on the Dept. of Defense tab.

May 22, 2009: Pres. Obama signs Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act of 2009. Includes EVM improvement and Systems Engineering (SE) best practices.

Section 302, Earned Value Management, directs DoD to provide recommendations for improving EVM and its implementation within DoD including:

·         A discussion of the merits of possible alternatives

·         A plan for implementing any improvements the Secretary determines to be appropriate

 

The EVM amendment was sponsored by Sen. Collins and Sen. McCaskill. In the Conference Report, Sen. Collins stated that the "GAO has observed that contractor reporting on EVM often lacks consistency, leading to inaccurate data and faulty application of the EVM metric. In other words, garbage in, garbage out." The report states that the improvement plan would "require DOD to consider the quality of the contractor's EVM systems and reporting in the past performance evaluation for a contract. With improved EVM data quality, both the government and the contractor will be able to improve program oversight, leading to better acquisition outcomes."

 

The Act also requires that DoD develop policies and guidance for the

·         Use of SE principles and best practices

·         Development of SE master plans

The Act can be downloaded at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-454

 
DoD DACS Software Tech News issue features Using EVM to Manage Software Projects (See Advanced EV:PBEV tab for description and link) 
 
DCMA: Lockheed Martin EVMS Compliance Report

The DCMA EVMS Compliance Report, Executive Summary, dated 11/19/2007, stated that Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (LM-Aero)
• Is not following, nor consistently applying, the EVMS guidelines during the execution of Department Programs
• Utility of the EVMS has declined

  • It does not serve its intended purpose
  • Government is not obtaining useful program performance data

• Large percentage of Control Account Managers (CAM)

  • Are disconnected from basic LM-Aero EVMS functions
  • Cannot satisfactorily demonstrate that they understand and use documented EVM processes, procedures and tools to manage their work

• LM-Aero was non-compliant in 19 0f 32 industry guidelines

• Significant findings include:
  • Using management reserve to alter internal and subcontractor performance levels and   overruns
  • Cost and schedule integration problems that undermine the validity of data
  • Inappropriate EV techniques used for assessment of material, subcontracts, and rework
  • Inability of CAMs to demonstrate working level understanding of key EVMS processes including
    • Definition and use of critical path
    • Situational awareness of cost and schedule variances for course correction
    • Substantiation of completion cost estimates

The DCMA report is available at POGO, the Project on Government Oversight, in its report,

"Pentagon: Lockheed Cannot Properly Manage Billion-Dollar Programs, Many Defense Contractors Have Not Adequately Tracked Costs"  

 http://pogoarchives.org/m/ns/jsf/dcma-report-20071119.pdf
 

Final version of GAO Guide Includes EVM 
In March 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published the final version of the GAO Cost Assessment Guide, Best Practices for Estimating and Managing Program Cost. It includes three chapters on Earned Value Management (EVM) with clearly explained methods, best practices, useful checklists, and case studies.

This is the first guide that links cost estimating and EVM. It offers transparency into how GAO will conduct an audit of a program’s cost estimate and EVM data and tips on how to develop reliable EACs using cost estimating techniques.

Some of the other topics that are covered are:
· Managing the technical baseline and requirements
· EVM Best Practices Checklist
· Measuring technical performance in terms of quality and technical performance
· Determine Data Reliability
· Determine if Contractor’s EAC is Feasible
· Correlation of schedule data to technical performance measures
· Integrated Baseline Reviews

The Guide is available at the Basic EVM tab. Basic Earned Value Management