The purpose of this assignment is to establish a baseline and record actual project data.

Review the “Project Execution” section of Chapter 3 in the textbook.

Part 1:

You will utilize the information and assignments from Topics 3 and 4 to formally baseline your project plans. The emphasis should be on schedule and cost.

Review Appendix A (pages 42-45) from the textbook. Follow the steps provided to guide your baseline process and the subsequent status of you plan.

1. Open the Microsoft Project “Global Treps Project Rev5” file created for the Topic 5 assignment and enter actual costs and durations associated with the project.
2. Update Tasks 1-4 to 100% complete.
3. Enter actual completion dates for Task 6. Make the “Actual Start” date the same as the “Current Start” date and the “Actual Finish” date 10 days later than the “Current Finish” date, as shown in Figure A-53 from textbook Appendix A.
4. View the Tracking Gantt chart. Your screen should resemble Figure A-54 from textbook Appendix A.
5. Save the Microsoft Project file as “Global Treps Project Rev6”.

Part 2:

Earned value management is an important project management technique for measuring project performance. Because you have entered actual information, you can now view earned value information in Microsoft Project. You can also view an earned value report using the visual reports feature.

1. Using the “Global Treps Project Rev6” you created in Part 1, view the Earned Value table by selecting the “Select All” button, selecting “More Tables,” and double-clicking on “Earned Value.” Reveal all the columns, as shown in Figure A-55 from textbook Appendix A.
2. View the earned value chart by clicking the “Report” tab, and then clicking “Costs” under the “View Reports” group. Click the “Earned Value Report” as shown in Figure A-56 from textbook Appendix A.
3. Save screenshots of the “Earned Value Table” and “Earned Value Report” including titles.

Using the Excel spreadsheet you created in the Topic 4 Project Cost, Cash Flow Report, and Earned Value Analysis assignment as a template, analyze the data from the “Earned Value Table” and the “Earned Value Report.” You will be assessed on the correct use of Excel formulas for the calculations. Provide written responses to each question within an expanded cell on the spreadsheet.

1. What is the cost variance, schedule variance, cost performance index (CPI), and schedule performance index (SPI) for the project?
2. Is the project ahead of schedule or behind schedule? Is the project under budget or over budget?
3. Use the CPI to calculate the estimate at completion (EAC) for this project. Is the project performing better or worse than planned?
4. Use the SPI to estimate how long it will take to finish this project.

Part 3:

Recall from Chapter 10 that a status report describes where the project stands in terms of the triple constraint: meeting scope, time, and cost goals at a specific point in time. Use the revised information from the Microsoft Project earned value dashboards and reports to communicate the project status to project stakeholders. Include the screenshots of the “Earned Value Table” and “Earned Value Report” from Part 1 of the assignment and reference them in the status report. Write a 250-word project status report to stakeholders to communicate the following:

1. Detail how much money has been spent to date.
2. Explain how long it took to complete key tasks.
3. Discuss whether the work is being accomplished as planned and explain why.

Submit the “Global Treps Project Rev6,” the Excel spreadsheet, and the project status report.