Overview
The Earned Value Curves report plots three core EVM metrics over your project timeline as S-curves; Budget (BCWS), Earned Value (BCWP), and Actual Cost (ACWP). The shape and relative position of these curves tells you at a glance whether you are ahead of or behind schedule and whether you are over or under budget. Below the chart, two tabs provide tabular views of the data: a Summary grid with key performance metrics and a Graph Data grid with the raw time-series values behind the chart. URL:/EarnedValue/EarnedValueCurves/Index
Prerequisites
- Select a project and reporting period. The chart and data grids do not load until both are selected.
Reading the Chart
The chart plots three spline curves over your project timeline:| Curve | EVM Term | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | BCWS: Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled | The cumulative planned value of all work scheduled through each period |
| Earned | BCWP: Budgeted Cost of Work Performed | The cumulative planned value of work actually completed through each period |
| Actual | ACWP: Actual Cost of Work Performed | The cumulative cost of completed work through each period |
- If the Earned curve is below the Budget curve, the project is behind schedule (negative Schedule Variance).
- If the Actual curve is above the Earned curve, the project is over budget (negative Cost Variance).
- Click any legend item to show or hide that curve.
- Hover over a data point to see the exact value for that period.
- Zoom by clicking and dragging on the chart to focus on a specific date or value range.
- Pan by holding and dragging after zooming to scroll along the axis.
Summary Tab
The Summary tab (active by default) shows a metrics grid with three rows:| Row | Description |
|---|---|
| Previous Cumulative | Cumulative EV metrics as of the reporting period prior to the selected one |
| Current Period | EV metrics for the selected reporting period only (period-to-period delta) |
| Current Cumulative | Cumulative EV metrics as of the selected reporting period |
| Column | Definition |
|---|---|
| Budget | Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) |
| Earned | Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP) |
| Actual | Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) |
| SV | Schedule Variance = Earned − Budget. Negative = behind schedule. |
| CV | Cost Variance = Earned − Actual. Negative = over budget. |
| SPI | Schedule Performance Index = Earned ÷ Budget. Below 1.0 = behind schedule. |
| CPI | Cost Performance Index = Earned ÷ Actual. Below 1.0 = over budget. |
| BAC | Budget at Completion: total approved budget |
| EAC | Estimate at Completion = CTD Actual + BAC − CTD Earned |
| VAC | Variance at Completion = BAC − EAC. Negative = forecast over budget. |
Graph Data Tab
The Graph Data tab shows the raw time-series data behind the chart; one row per period from project start through the selected reporting period.| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Reporting Period | The period date (formatted as month/year in Monthly mode, year in Yearly mode) |
| Planned | Cumulative Budget (BCWS) for that period |
| Earned | Cumulative Earned Value (BCWP) for that period |
| Actual | Cumulative Actual Cost (ACWP) for that period |
Available Filters
The Project and Reporting Period selectors appear in the page header. All other filters are in the left-side filter panel, which activates after a reporting period is selected.| Filter | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Project | Required. Loads reporting periods for the selected project. | : |
| Reporting Period | Required. Sets the “as of” date for all calculations. | : |
| Axis | Sets the time granularity of the chart x-axis: Monthly or Yearly. | Monthly |
| WBS | Limit the curves to a specific WBS element and its children. Selecting a WBS also filters the Work Package dropdown. | All WBS |
| Work Package | Further limit to a single work package. Populated based on the selected WBS; select a WBS first. | All WPs |
| CAM | Limit to work packages assigned to a specific Control Account Manager. | All CAMs |
| Start Date | Trim the chart to start at this date. Combined with End Date to zoom to a specific window. | Project start |
| End Date | Trim the chart to end at this date. | Project end |
| Currency Format | Override the display divisor for this session. | Registry / User Setting |
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| None: Use Registry / User Setting | Uses the project’s configured currency format |
| Default | Display values in base currency |
| K Value | Display in thousands |
| M Value | Display in millions |
When to Use This Report
Use EV Curves at the start of any status review to establish the overall performance picture before diving into CPR detail. The S-curve immediately reveals whether performance is improving or degrading over time; something a tabular report alone cannot show. Use the Axis toggle to switch between monthly granularity (useful for recent periods) and yearly (useful for long-range projects to see the full arc of performance). Use the WBS and Work Package filters to narrow the curves to a specific area of the project when investigating a localized cost or schedule issue.Exporting
Click the Download icon and select Export to Excel to downloadEVCurves.xlsx. The workbook contains three sheets:
| Sheet | Contents |
|---|---|
| EV Chart | The S-curve chart as an embedded image |
| EV Summary Data | The Summary grid (Previous Cumulative / Current Period / Current Cumulative rows with all metric columns) |
| EV Chart Data | The Graph Data grid (one row per period with Reporting Period, Planned, Earned, Actual) |