Project Cost Control & EVM
An intuitive, interactive course on project cost control and Earned Value Management (EVM) for commercial project managers, project controllers, PMO analysts, and cost engineers. Build a time-phased cost baseline from a work breakdown structure, track it with planned value, earned value, and actual cost, compute the EVM indicators (cost and schedule variance, CPI and SPI), forecast the estimate at completion, read the S-curve and CPI trends, and run variance analysis and change control. Every lesson pairs plain-language explanations with precise curves, worked examples, a live self-checking simulator, and practice you can verify yourself. All figures are illustrative synthetic teaching examples.
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Cost Baselines & Budgets
Where cost control starts: the work breakdown structure and control accounts, the time-phased budget, and the cost baseline (the PMB) you measure everything against.
Tracking Cost: PV, EV, AC
The three numbers that drive earned value: planned value, earned value, and actual cost -- what each measures and how to read percent complete honestly.
Earned Value Math
The EVM indicators: cost variance and schedule variance, then the CPI and SPI efficiency ratios that tell you whether the project is over budget or behind schedule -- home of the live EVM dashboard.
Forecasting: EAC, ETC, VAC
Turn today's performance into a forecast of the finish: the estimate at completion, the estimate to complete, the variance at completion, and the to-complete performance index.
The S-Curve & Trends
Read cost control visually: the PV/EV/AC S-curve, trend and forecast lines, and what a drifting CPI trend is really telling you.
Variance Analysis & Change Control
Turn a variance into an action: root-cause a cost or schedule variance, protect the baseline through change control, and tell management reserve from contingency.
Cost Control in Practice
Put it together on a synthetic recovery case study, learn the common cost-control pitfalls, and report cost performance clearly to stakeholders.
New lessons are added continuously. Every lesson pairs plain-language explanations with a live, self-checking cost-control widget.