PRIYANSHU KUMAR ROLL NO 1311314 ASSIGNMENT 2: Ariba Implementation at Med-X: Managing Earned Value (EV) Introduction MED – MED – X X Inc. a global pharmaceutical giant has seen a sustained growth ever since its inception. In order to maintain its competitive advantage the company has decided to closely monitor the procurement process and make it more efficient. For this they have roped in Implementation Technologies, to install its Ariba application to transform the existing set of procurement procedures into a decentralized purchasing model having a self-service philosophy. This process will help in streamlining the process between suppliers and MED-X while ensuring better connectivity, reducing cycle time and cost involved. At present Christopher Martin of Implementation technologies is facing a challenge of completing the implementation project on time. In order to gain the insights on the various problems that the project may be facing an earned value analysis is to be conducted.
Earned Value Analysis Software Customization
Monthly Plan
Monthly status
Plan Actual burn Actual performance
Schedule impact
Ratio Calculation
Cost impact
Earned Value Analysis May June
July
BCWS ACWP
$ 120,000.0 $ 11 9, 00 0. 0
$ 192,000.0 $ 187,000.0
$ 192,000.0 $ 165,000.0
$ 192,000.0 $ 189,000.0
$ 192,000.0 $ 186,000.0
BCWP
$ 133,250.0
$ 197,000.0
$ 220,000.0
$ 215,000.0
$ 240,000.0
$
$
$
$
SV SPI CV CPI
$
August
September
13,250.0 1.11 14,250.0 1.12 May
5,000.0 1.03 $ 10,000.0 1.05 June
$ 28,000.0 1.14 $ 55,000.0 1.33 July
23,000.0 1.12 $ 26,000.0 1.14 August
48,000.0 1.25 $ 54,000.0 1.29 September
Technical Infrastructure
Monthly Plan
Monthly status
Plan Actual burn
BCWS ACWP
$ 120,000.0 $ 120,000.0
$ 192,000.0 $ 215,000.0
$ 192,000.0 $ 192,000.0
$ 192,000.0 $ 216,500.0
$ 192,000.0 $ 170,000.0
Actual performance
BCWP
$ 120,000.0
$ 170,000.0
$ 173,000.0
$ 190,000.0
$ 185,000.0
-
$ (22,000.0)
$ (19,000.0)
$
(2,000.0)
$
(7,000.0)
-
0.88 $ (45,000.0)
0.90 $ (19,000.0)
0.99 $ (26,500.0)
$
0.96 15,000.0
Ratio Calculation
Schedule impact
SV
$
Cost impact
SPI CV
$
1.18 Average
0.94
1 May
0.79 June
0.90 July
0.88 August
1.09 September
Plan Actual burn
BCWS ACWP
$ 240,000.0 $ 239,000.0
$ 384,000.0 $ 402,000.0
$ 384,000.0 $ 357,000.0
$ 384,000.0 $ 405,500.0
$ 384,000.0 $ 356,000.0
Actual performance
BCWP
$ 253,250.0
$ 367,000.0
$ 393,000.0
$ 405,000.0
$ 425,000.0
$
$
41,000.0 1.11 69,000.0
1.03
$
1.19
1.05
Monthly Plan
Monthly status
Schedule impact
SV
$
13,250.0
$ (17,000.0)
$
Cost impact
SPI CV
$
1.06 14,250.0
0.96 $ (35,000.0)
1.02 $ 36,000.0
1.05 $(500.0)
0.91
1.10
0.99
CPI
1.06
9,000.0
21,000.0
Based on the data given in exhibits of the case Earned Value Analysis was conducted as above. Some of the main points that came out of the exercise can be summed as below.
Software Customization
1.13
CPI Combined Projects
Ratio Calculation
1
Average
The scheduled variance (SV) for each of the month is positive which signify that the project is ahead in this regard
0.93 Average
PRIYANSHU KUMAR ROLL NO 1311314 The Cost variance (CV) for each of the month is again positive which means that the project is being done in lesser resources than planned The SPI for each month is greater than 1 which means that more work is being done than planned
The CPI for each month is also greater than 1 which means the project is producing more than the spent cost
Technical Infrastructure
SV for technical infrastructure was found to be negative for all months which implies that the project is behind schedule right from the start
CV for months have been found varying. Initially it was zero, that means project was at par with the cost, then it became negative showing the cost increased and in the last month it became positive which means cost efficiency again c rept in
SPI and CPI were less than 1 which meant less work was done as planned and project was spending more for less work done
Some of the problems that the PM team felt during the implementation were
There was no effective communication among project teams as such. One in which a part time MED-X staffer was repeatedly pulled off the project for other duties. The other one was when there was delay in getting Sun server equipment.
There were no proper controls and checks as his team uncovered several things that were not working as designed.
Some of the MED-X resources were allocated as and when needed.
These problems were not communicated well with Terry Baker which can be due to many reasons. One of the thing can be the higher position held by Terry (CIO) which created a communication gap between him and Martin. It can also be due to the fact that Martin wanted to maintain status quo for the project. This being Martin’s first major project he may not have wanted to share the delays happening due to various reasons as it will ultimately hamper his credibility to drive down a project successfully. Some of the thing that Martin could have done earlier to avoid these delays are discussed below.
Exit barrier for employees part of the project management team
Formalization of channel for knowledge sharing
Involving others in decision making process to keep up the pace of infrastructure projects
Periodic checks for project movement, infrastructure project was lacking right from the start
Future Course of Action As seen from the calculation done above the Earned Value parameters of the project are still under control hence the project still can be completed on time. But in order to do that close eye should be kept on the future doings like rest of the technical infrastructure creation. There may be need for active management of resources. Project Management should have timely check and bounds for gauging the progress. Judgemental biases and misperceptions of feedback can lead to communication gap. A complete mapping of feedback structure should be there. Also evolving along the way can be a good step to keep pace of the changing environment. Also active support of the top management is a necessary condition for project success, as if the project is left in the hands of an outside consultant, some problems may be created which are not easily solvable by an outsider than an insider.
