Question: What is the value-add of Deltek Cobra in a Primavera P6 Environment?
This article explores the question of why it’s necessary to add Deltek Cobra or another Earned Value Management (EVM) tool to your enterprise project management system when Primavera P6 already offers basic earned value management functionality.
And indeed, I and my Ten Six colleagues have worked with numerous clients who have successfully used Primavera P6 to run rudimentary earned value reporting systems; that is, until a big contract comes along with integrated Earned Value Management System (EVMS) language buried in the terms and conditions. At this point, you will need to take a serious look at a specialist EVM tool if you’re to meet the stringent demands of an Earned Value Management System requirement. To put it briefly, the EVM tool will pick up where the scheduling tool leaves off, optimizing your chances for a successful certification process.
Ten Reasons Why You Need to use an EVM Software Tool
In no particular order, the following is a list of 10 specific items that an EVM software tool offers over and above a scheduling tool. While the author has expertise in both Primavera P6 and Deltek Cobra, this list is true for most available scheduling and EVM tools. Therefore the list is talking in general terms, but does use Deltek Cobra or Primavera P6 as examples where this is useful.
1. Control Accounts and Work Packages – the concept of Control Accounts and Work Packages are fundamental to EVM and exist in EVM tools as the primary elements with which to track performance. Scheduling tools do not generally have the concept of Control Accounts and Work Packages per se, and require the use of structural hierarchy to represent these elements. For example, in Primavera P6, the WBS elements allow for selection of performance measurement techniques (see EVT below) which makes WBS elements equivalent to work packages in an EVM tool; making the parent WBS the Control Account. Activities would simply be participants in the progress of the WBS (Work Package) element.
2. Earned Value Technique (EVT) – sometimes called ‘earned value method’ determines the way in which value can be earned on a work package. You need a wider variety of EVT options than are offered by most scheduling tools when setting up a compliant system. For example, Deltek Cobra offers EVT options including 0/100, 50/50, 100/0, Milestone, Percent Complete, Level of Effort, Units Complete, User Defined, Apportioned, Planning Package, Earned As Spent to name the most commonly used. With scheduling systems you may at best only have Percent Complete, 50/50, 0/100 and Custom Percent Complete as your options. Certification requires the overwhelming majority of work packages in the schedule to be of a ‘discrete’ nature; meaning that value is earned in a way that is easily quantifiable – the document is complete (0/100) – the roof has started (50/50) – three out of five units have been delivered (Units Complete), and so on. If the schedule is too heavily loaded with more subjective work packages such as percent complete or level of effort, it won’t certify easily. Scheduling tools tend to favor percent complete methods to track progress, which means the schedule ends up being too subjective in its earning method for robust EVM reporting. In short, an EVM tool gives you greater ability to earn value ‘discretely’ when statusing the project.
3. Sophisticated Rate and Burden Calculations – needed to generate accurate budget, earned value and forecast data and to satisfy many of the standard EVM reporting criteria. Complex modeling of rate structures, forward pricing and burdens such as overhead, cost of money and G&A is required of any EVM system. As most scheduling tools offer only basic capabilities in the area of rate changes over time and varying burdens on different resources, they can generally only approximate costs for a particular project. EVM software tools are essentially cost systems and are therefore designed to provide very sophisticated cost modeling, thus providing very accurate data and time-phased reporting.
4. Bidding and Cost Scheduling – an EVM tool also opens the door to more accurate bidding of possible future projects. Invariably this process is achieved using complex spreadsheets and WBS elements, however these can be error prone and time consuming to develop, particularly when it comes to date-sensitive forward pricing and producing time-phased data. With an EVM tool in place, proposed projects can be loaded into the system and highly accurate, time-phased cost and manpower reports can be produced with a few mouse clicks. You can then run what-if scenarios to find out how costs accelerate if the project slips – powerful information to have during the bidding process.
5. Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) – required in most certified EVM systems to satisfy the CPR Format 4 – Staffing report requirement. An EVM tool has built-in functionality to calculate the FTE for each resource. This FTE calculation allows the system to report on the number of full time people who are required from period to period across the project. Again, most scheduling systems do not offer FTE reporting capabilities in quite the manner required for EVM.
6. Integration with Cost Systems – the EVM tool is positioned between the scheduling and cost system. It then integrates with these systems on a periodic basis to track progress, load actual hours and costs and then calculate the earned value achieved. Generally this requires much customization and process control to achieve in a scheduling tool, whereas most leading EVM tools are designed to integrate easily with common cost systems.
7. Forecasting – used in EVM systems to provide predictive data, forecasting is a sophisticated and specialized process for EV reporting. An EVM tool has built-in capabilities to model one or more types of forecast for both manual and statistical forecasting. This provides control over the performance factors used when calculating forecast figures and allows for detailed analysis of future costs based upon current trends.
8. Variance Thresholds – used for variance reporting, thresholds are the driver for all variance events in the EVMS. An EVM tool provides for the setup of thresholds which, if exceeded will color code certain reports and views to alert the Control Account Manager that things are slipping from the baseline. Again, most scheduling tools do not have equivalent functionality for triggering the need for a variance report.
9. Reporting – possibly the most notable value-adds you gain when integrating an EVM tool with your scheduling system. Because EVM reporting requires very specific report formats with particular headers, columns, rows and breakouts, they are beyond the scope of most scheduling systems. However, all the leading EVM tools provide these report formats out-of-the-box, saving the considerable customization and development necessary for doing the same with scheduling tools. This isn’t just restricted to the commonly used reports CPR Formats 1 – 5, but EVM tools also provide a raft of other formats, used for example, during the baseline setup and audit process in preparation for an IBR. Try getting a JIG 6 audit report out of a scheduling system.
Sample: Project Planning Statistics (JIG 6) Report, used by auditors to determine the use of EVT in a project
10. Exporting to wInsight – another common feature of EVM systems is their ability to export data to Deltek wInsight. Deltek wInsight is ubiquitous among the government agencies and as such, wInsight data is invariably requested as part of the Contract Data Requirements List, a.k.a. CDRLs. A wInsight export format is an XML file that can be loaded directly into wInsight via the wInsight Administrator application. Again, most scheduling systems don’t do wInsight exports out-of-the-box, so call in the developers for this one too.
Summary
The above list illustrates just a few of the more distinct value-adds that EVM tools bring to the table over and above the capabilities of a scheduling tool. I could go on about the EVM tool being a central repository for your change controlled WBS, the go-to tool for contract and budget information tracked using distributed budget, undistributed budget and management reserve accounts, and a dozen other things I don’t have the column inches with which to explore. In short, if the requirement is for full up, ANSI 748 EVM compliance, you absolutely will need an EVM tool added to your project management system. You simply won’t have the time to augment your scheduling system and develop supporting processes to meet very specific requirements of the certifying agency; assuming they can even be met.
Going back to the original question that was asked about Deltek Cobra and Primavera P6, all of the above value-adds apply. By adding Deltek Cobra to your Primavera P6 system, you’re locked and loaded with any feature you’re likely to need for certification. However, experience has shown that the tools are rarely the central issue when standing up an EVMS. It’s the changes in systems, culture and process and the new skills required to run an EVM tool that generally present the biggest challenges on the road to certification; but of course, that’s where Ten Six Consulting Services can help.
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