A project manager wants to know the status of their project(s). Project managers seek a clear view of project status and deadlines Are they on time? On budget? Are there any risks or quality issues? What is the project’s trend?

The main project list gives a clear snapshot of a project’s status, including Project Health, Deadline, Priority, Progress, Start and End Dates.

Project progress status

The project’s percentage of progress is calculated based on all Tasks. If there is no physical or actual effort entered, there will be no progress displayed.

Note: If project options and task settings are not aligned, the project progress will not be calculated properly.

Project progress per Phase

1. All tasks must have a defined workload.
2. The initial baseline must be saved.
3. The project and all tasks must share the same option settings.
4. The progress percentage for labor is calculated on time spent on tasks within each phase.
   

Project Monthly Overview - A clear view of project status and trend

The "Project status/Overview by month" views (based on project overview records) shows visual indicators of project status and progress on a month-by-month basis, alowing project managers to monitor trends over time.

Monthly progress reports

Although Cerri Project automatically calculates various indicators, a solid project status report requires input from the project manager.

The 'Progress report' is the document that allows the project leader to formally report on the current state of the project. Beyond the automatic indicators found in the Project overview, these documents allow the project leader to provide a subjective assessment, descirbe issues encountered, and outline any resolutions.

The Progress Report header

2. The General tab

1. The KPI tab
   

This tab only appears if the option 'By month' is enabled in the 'Metric capture mode' field in the General Setup of the 'Portfolio' database. See the KPI module chapter for more details.

The Monthly progress report view

The "Progress reports" view shows a clear monthly summary of the project manager’s reported issues.

Earned Value Tracking

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a project management technique used to measure project performance and progress by combining scope, schedule, and cost metrics.

It provides accurate forecasts of project performance and is essential for project managers to make data-driven decisions.

EVM compares the planned work with actual work performed and helps control costs and schedules. The project baseline is a key element, serving as the reference for all EVM-related analysis.

EVM Measures

EVM consists of the following primary and derived data points. Each data point value is based on the time or date an EVM measure is performed on the project.

Primary Data Points:

• Budget At Completion (BAC)
  

• Total budget for the project.
  

• Budgeted Cost for Work Scheduled (BCWS) / Planned Value (PV)
  

• The value of planned work at a specific time expressed in money or hours.
  

• PV = BAC * % of planned work
  

• 
  Budgeted Cost for Work Performed (BCWP) / Earned Value (EV)
  

• Value of actual worked completed expressed in money or hours.
  

• EV = BAC * % of actual work

• Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) / Actual Cost (AC)
  

• Actual costs incurred to date.
  

1. BCWP = $600
   
2. BCWS = $800
   
3. ACWP = $700
   

Derived Data Points - Cost Forecasting:

• Estimate At Completion (EAC)
  

• Expected total cost to complete project.
  

• EAC = BAC / CPI
  

• EAC = AC + ETC
  

• EAC = AC + ((BAC - EV) / CPI) (typical case)
  

• EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) (atypical case)
  

Typical means it is assumed that similar variances will not occur in the future.

• Estimate to complete (ETC)
  

• Remaining cost to finish the project.
  

• ETC = EAC - AC
  

• ETC = (BAC / CPI) - (EV/CPI)
  

• ETC = (BAC - EV) / CPI
  

Derived Data Points - Variances:

• Cost Variance (CV)
  

• How much above or under budget.
  

• CV = EV-AC
  

• NEGATIVE = over budget
  

• POSITIVE = under budget.
  

• Schedule Variances (SV)
  

• How much ahead or behind schedule.
  

• SV = EV-PV
  

• NEGATIVE = behind schedule
  

• POSITIVE = ahead of schedule
  

• Variance At Completion (VAC)
  

• Variance of total cost of the work and expected cost.
  

• VAC = BAC – EAC.
  

Performance Indices:

• Cost Performance Index

• CPI = EV / AC
  

• < 1 = over budget
  

• > 1 = under budget
  

• Schedule Performance Index

• SPI = EV / PV
  

• > 1 = ahead of schedule
  

• < 1 = behind schedule.
  

The "Progress status/Earned value" view shows monthly earned value indicators based on project overview records.