Overview
The Variance Narrative Report is a dedicated workspace for writing and managing variance explanations. It shows your earned value metrics alongside color-coded variance cells that indicate where narratives are required, flagged, or complete. An edit mode toggle switches the report from read-only review into collaborative editing so your team can write narratives directly in the report. When all narratives are complete, an administrator exports them via Admin > Import/Export > Export > Variance Narrative Entries for inclusion in client deliverables or contract reporting packages.Prerequisites
- Select a project and reporting period.
- Earned value must have been calculated for the selected period.
- Variance thresholds must be configured by your administrator. Cells only turn red when a variance exceeds a configured threshold.
Understanding the Color Coding
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Variance exceeds threshold — a narrative is required |
| Yellow | Manually flagged by an administrator for attention |
| Green | Narrative has been written and saved |
Writing Variance Narratives
- Click Edit (or the edit mode toggle) to switch from read-only to editing mode.
- Locate red-bordered variance cells. These are the variances that require explanation.
- Click a red cell to expand the narrative entry row for that work package. Fields are provided for:
- Current period schedule variance explanation
- Current period cost variance explanation
- Cumulative schedule variance explanation
- Cumulative cost variance explanation
- Write your explanation — describe the cause of the variance, its impact, and any planned corrective action.
- Save the narrative. The cell border turns green to confirm the narrative is recorded.
- Repeat for all remaining red cells.
Narratives from prior reporting periods are available for reference. Reviewing previous entries helps maintain continuity in your variance explanations across periods.
Deleting a Narrative
In edit mode, saved narratives can be deleted from the expanded detail row. Deleting a narrative returns the cell to red status — it will require a new explanation before the period is considered complete.Exporting
The Variance Narrative Report exports to both Excel and Word, producing formatted deliverables ready for client reporting packages. Administrators can also export all variance narrative entries for a project via Admin > Import/Export > Export > Variance Narrative Entries.Saved Views
Like the CPR, the Variance Narrative Report supports named saved views that preserve your column layout, filters, and grouping. A System View loads by default. Use the view selector in the toolbar to save and reload your own named views.