Earned Value Management Game: Practice SPI and CPI Under Pressure
(EV ÷ PV)
(EV ÷ AC)
What is earned value management?
Earned value management (EVM) is a method for measuring project health by comparing three numbers: what you planned to have done by now (planned value), what you've actually done (earned value), and what you've spent doing it (actual cost). Because it anchors both schedule and budget to work actually delivered, EVM catches problems that "money left in the budget" hides.
The EVM formulas
| Measure | Formula | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| PV (planned value) | BAC × planned % complete | The value of work you should have finished by today, per the baseline plan. |
| EV (earned value) | BAC × actual % complete | The value of work actually finished. The anchor for everything else. |
| AC (actual cost) | money spent to date | What the finished work actually cost. |
| SPI (schedule performance index) | EV ÷ PV | Above 1.0 = ahead of schedule. Below 1.0 = behind. |
| CPI (cost performance index) | EV ÷ AC | Above 1.0 = under budget. Below 1.0 = each dollar buys less than a dollar of work. |
| EAC (estimate at completion) | BAC ÷ CPI | Where total cost lands if current efficiency continues. |
A worked example
Take one of the game's scenarios: a mobile app launch with a $400K budget (BAC) over 16 weeks. It's now week 9, the team is 50% complete, and $280K has been spent.
PV = $400K × (9 ÷ 16) = $225K planned by now. EV = $400K × 50% = $200K delivered. AC = $280K spent.
SPI = 200 ÷ 225 = 0.89: behind schedule. CPI = 200 ÷ 280 = 0.71: every dollar is buying 71 cents of work. If nothing changes, EAC = $400K ÷ 0.71 ≈ $560K: a $160K overrun that "we still have $120K left" would never reveal.
Watch: earned value in 2 minutes
Read the transcript
So you're producing a massive ten-part YouTube series. You've got a budget, you've got a deadline, but halfway through... how do you actually know if you're failing or winning? Looking at how much cash you have left doesn't tell the whole story. You need EVM: Earned Value Management.
It all comes down to three numbers.
First: PV, or Planned Value. By week five, you planned to have five videos edited. That's your baseline.
Second: EV, or Earned Value. This is reality. How many videos are actually done? Maybe you only finished four. That's your EV.
Third: AC, or Actual Cost. How much money did you actually spend paying your editor to get those four videos done?
Now we turn those numbers into ratios.
To check your schedule, calculate SPI. Earned Value divided by Planned Value. If your SPI is over one point zero, you're ahead of schedule. Under one point zero? You're falling behind on uploads.
To check your budget, calculate CPI. Earned Value divided by Actual Cost. Over one point zero means you're under budget, getting great value. Under one point zero means you're burning through cash too fast.
And that's EVM. PV, EV, AC. It's how pros track projects without guessing. Ready to test it out? Jump into the game and see if you can make the right call.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SPI and CPI?
SPI (schedule performance index) measures schedule: SPI = EV ÷ PV. CPI (cost performance index) measures budget: CPI = EV ÷ AC. Both compare against earned value, but SPI asks "did we deliver as much work as planned?" while CPI asks "what did each dollar of spend actually buy?" A project can be ahead of schedule and over budget at the same time.
What is a good CPI value?
A CPI of 1.0 means every dollar spent produced exactly one dollar of planned work. Above 1.0 is under budget (each dollar bought more than a dollar of value); below 1.0 is over budget. A CPI of 0.80, for example, means you are getting 80 cents of work for every dollar spent.
How do you calculate earned value?
Earned value (EV) = total budget (BAC) × percent of work actually complete. If a $400K project is 50% complete, EV is $200K, regardless of how much time has passed or money has been spent. Comparing EV against planned value and actual cost is what makes EVM work.
Is earned value management on the PMP exam?
Yes. Earned value questions appear in the PMP exam's process/predictive content, including reading SPI and CPI values, computing EV from percent complete, and forecasting EAC (EAC = BAC ÷ CPI). The exam favors interpretation ("what does CPI 0.85 tell you?") over raw arithmetic.
Want more practice? Try Telephone Tree, our communication channels game, or try Risk Expedition, our risk-response game, or browse all practice games.
Every round, a stakeholder corners you: "How's schedule? How's budget?" No spreadsheet. No stalling. Just you and the numbers.