What is Earned Value in Project Management??

i see this post is 5 months old; if it is still monitored, here is my reply to Nitin:

EV is monitored at WBS levels suited for the role - Sponsor/developer, Contractor etc. Usually, the Client side monitoring is at Level 3. Contractor go deep. Activity level monitoring is not necessary, in my opinion. Key is setting up control accounts, which are one or more work packages monitored by a organizational element.

I am a certified Earned Value Professional (as I understand, i am currently the only EVP in India)and will be glad to be of assistance in case of queries.

The earned value technique measures performance of the project as it moves from project initiation through closure. The Earned Value Management (EVM) methodology provides a mean to forecast future performance based upon past performance.

Earned Value can be used in almost any project situation and in almost any project environment. It may be used on large projects, medium sized projects, small projects, complex and simple projects and in any market or industry sector. Some people, of course, know all about earned value, they have used it for years - but perhaps not as effectively as they could have done, and the above answer given is right on the button, i agree with vikash on this.

Earned Value is a technique that clearly shows whether you're getting value for the money that is being spent. It is a major component of best practice in Project Management. It is mandatory in USA and Australia and is being used more and more in the UK. The technique essentially identifies the value of the useful work done at any given point, in all areas and at all levels within the project. By comparison with the original plan, Earned Value can be used to identify other parameters such as time to completion, cost to completion and expected final costs. It also enables project managers to identify those areas of the project that are proceeding really well and those that are in trouble and enables percentage progress and performance indices that needs to be calculated. hope this helps dayanand.....