Time and Cost Probabilities of Success are another sets of S-Curves of interest.

no link there

Hi,
I am using suretrack planning software. I tried to make s-curve using view > resource profile > performance ( resource total). The cost curve extends beyound the data date line until project completion date. why is so? Earn value and BCWS curve are ok.
cheers

No offence taken anyway!

I believe weighted milestones can be useful. As long as you are conservative when setting out the weightings.
Also, if there are many changes in the number of drawings, then it strengthens the need to set up a robust change control process in the very begining.

Nieman,

True it can be a very sketchy method of measuring progress, but sometimes the situation demands it!

Nieman,

As i think i mentioned earlier, s-curves can exist also for packages of work.

If you have the design of many components in a project, you may want to claim that a ’package’ of work is done only once a certain group of designs have been completed.

By creating your own s-curve in excel you can claim in packages by only including the bcwp of some designs once a certain group of designs are complete.

Hope i make sense.

If you have two S-curves, and they are related to planning, it is likely that one relates to all activities as soon as possible (ASAP), and the other with all activities as late as possible(ALAP).

These two curves give an envelope.The project progress should give a series of points which lie within the envelope. If they do, then by analysing which activities now lie on the Critical Path and concentrating on them, the end date is still achievable. If they lie below the envelope then the advice is that you cannot now meet the completion date without taking extraordinary measures to recover the time lost.

Hello to All,

My preference is to have a lot of S-curve.

For EPC: Progress S-curve for Design development stage, Progress S-Curve for procurement stage, Progress S-Curve during construction Stage.

During Construction Stage: Progress S-Curve for earthworks, conrete works (can be detailed into formworks, re-bars, concrete or built-up conrete all inclusive)

S-Curve for finishing works: blockworks, plastering, tilings, woodwork, etc.

S-curve help track down productivity, progress status, HOW HEALTHY IS THE PROJECT.

Earned Value Management is also important.

This is what P3 for, to get micro control of project.

Cheers,

Joseph

Daniel,
Daniel wrote :However, some projects are very sensitive when it comes to cost and can be manage equally effective by monitoring production rates and resources.

In this case EVA can not and will not be effective tool in a very sensitive cost monitoring, keep in mind that engineering cost control has a big tolerance incomparable to accounting tool ..in this case use accounting tools .

On a CM type of project, the scope is broken down into trade packages and may vary depending on how big the project is. On this type of set up, you need to monitor each work package, which will require a progress curve for each trade contract. The project we just completed involves more than 200 work packages and each one has its own progress curve, the unit of measure will vary depending on what work they are doing. i.e Cubic Meter for Structural Concrete, Structural Steel in Tonnage, facades in square meters, etc. EVA can be applied for each one, it is a combination of time, cost and resources. However, some projects are very sensitive when it comes to cost and can be manage equally effective by monitoring production rates and resources.

This is why Earned Value was invented. It reduces all these measurement units into a common denominator e.g. money or time. Of course, the biggest pig is trying to get people to understand this - actually do it - and then understand the resultant-curve behviour characteristics of the chosen methodology. People will insist on thinking that if you have laid 3/9 bricks, then you are 33.33333% complete (in EV terms). The answer could be either Yes or No.

I’m writing a guideline on the principles and applied methodologies of EV that almost literally spells-out precisely what happens when you use certain methods, calculating progress etc. [it actually graphs all the results, so that you can compare them]. The reason I’m doing this, is because in all the papers and books that I’ve read, none give a true understanding of the way these things work. The whole idea is to keep it very simple - thus I’m using a very, very basic example [the building of a 3x3 brick wall]. However, even this is showing some amazing variations of results, depending upon which methodology is being used. So, it’s no wonder that even an experienced PM or Planner might have some difficulty in comprehending why the overall summary results are as they are.

Ultimately, the principles are actually very simple. It’s the underlying ability to understand that you MUST convert everything to the common denominator, otherwise you are attempting to calculate a summary result, but using different units of measurement. It doesn’t matter what the unit of measurement is, as long as it is consistently being used. This usually boils-down to either time or money.

James.

Hi all,

Well, the basic question asked in the thread was, how many S-Curve does the project have?

Basically, it depends what are elements you need to monitor on the project works.

You can have S-Curves for resources or for costs. It can be also for a typical resource or may for a earned value calculation or a traditional way of costs claimed against cost baseline.

It can be also for procurement of pipes, or any other major items.

There is no point in making S-Curves for anything and everything, but for the things which are on the critical path or on near-critical path.

A time may come in the project, when u need to monitor particular resource-driven items, then the cost baseline.

Hope, it clears.

Cheers,

in P5, you can define it in Steps Weightings and you can input the Physical Percentage manually. I guess you might not get a perfect S-curve, maybe zig-zag curve or saw-curve! where’s the sense?!

Besides tracking planned progress, there are cost curves and resource curves.