Overview
The Contract Performance Report is the primary earned value analysis tool in Dash360. It presents a hierarchical grid organized by Control Account Manager (CAM) and WBS level, showing the full set of EVM metrics — planned, earned, and actual values for both the current period and cumulative to date — along with performance indices, variances, and completion forecasts.
The CPR also drives the variance narrative workflow: cells that exceed your configured thresholds are color-coded and require written explanations before the report can be finalized.
Prerequisites
- Select a project and reporting period. The grid does not load until both are selected.
- Earned value must have been calculated for the selected reporting period. If data appears empty, contact your administrator to run the EV calculation (Admin > Projects > Calculate Earned Value).
Reading the Grid
The CPR grid is organized hierarchically. Rows roll up from work package level through WBS and CAM levels, with group summaries at each level.
Column Groups
Each row displays the following column groups:
| Group | Columns |
|---|
| Current Period | Planned (BCWS), Earned (BCWP), Actual (ACWP), Schedule Variance (SV), Cost Variance (CV) |
| Cumulative to Date | Planned (BCWS), Earned (BCWP), Actual (ACWP), SV, CV |
| Performance Indices | SPI, CPI |
| Completion | % Planned, % Earned, % Actual, BAC, EAC, VAC |
| Metric | Definition |
|---|
| BCWS | Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled — planned value of all scheduled work |
| BCWP | Budgeted Cost of Work Performed — planned value of work actually completed |
| ACWP | Actual Cost of Work Performed — what the completed work actually cost |
| SV | Schedule Variance = BCWP − BCWS. Negative = behind schedule. |
| CV | Cost Variance = BCWP − ACWP. Negative = over budget. |
| SPI | Schedule Performance Index = BCWP ÷ BCWS. Below 1.0 = behind schedule. |
| CPI | Cost Performance Index = BCWP ÷ ACWP. Below 1.0 = over budget. |
| BAC | Budget at Completion — total approved budget |
| EAC | Estimate at Completion — auto-calculated as ACWP + (BAC − BCWP) ÷ CPI |
| VAC | Variance at Completion = BAC − EAC. Negative = forecast to finish over budget. |
Variance Threshold Highlighting
Your administrator configures variance thresholds (by dollar amount, percentage, or both). Cells that exceed those thresholds are color-coded:
| Color | Meaning | Action Required |
|---|
| Red border | Variance exceeds threshold — narrative explanation required | Click the cell to open the variance narrative dialog |
| Yellow border | Manually flagged by an administrator for review | No required action, but worth investigating |
| Green border | Required narrative has been written and saved | No action needed |
Red-bordered cells must have narratives written before the report period is considered complete. Cells without narratives will remain red until a narrative is saved.
Writing a Variance Narrative
- Click any red-bordered variance cell.
- A dialog opens with separate fields for current period and cumulative variances, and separate tabs for Schedule Variance (SV) and Cost Variance (CV).
- Write your explanation — describe the cause, impact, and any corrective action planned.
- Optionally view previous narratives for this work package to maintain continuity with prior reporting periods.
- Click Save.
The cell border turns green once a narrative is saved.
To display narratives inline in the grid without opening each dialog, use the Show Inline Narratives toggle in the toolbar.
Available Filters
| Filter | What It Controls |
|---|
| Project | The project to analyze |
| Reporting Period | Sets the “as of” date for all calculations |
| Currency Divisor | Display values in base dollars, thousands (K), or millions (M). Useful for large projects. |
| WBS | Filter the grid to a specific WBS element |
| Work Package | Filter to a specific work package |
| CAM | Filter to a specific Control Account Manager |
Exporting
Standard Excel Export
Exports the full CPR grid as displayed.
Five specialized Excel formats for formal reporting deliverables:
| Format | Contents |
|---|
| Format 1 | Hierarchical report organized by WBS level |
| Format 2 | Organized by Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) |
| Format 3 | Resource-based view |
| Format 4 | Additional resource-based view |
| Format 5 | Variance narratives export |
Format 2 (OBS) requires OBS to be configured for your project. If the OBS option is unavailable, contact your administrator.
Saved Views
The CPR supports named saved views that preserve your column layout, filters, sorts, and grouping. A System View is loaded by default. You can save your own named views using the view selector in the toolbar and reload them in future sessions.
