Schedule Variance: What Is It & How Do I Calculate It?

Schedule Variance: What Is It & How Do I Calculate It?

Project managers are responsible for tasks across every part of a business, such as scheduling work, managing people, managing budgets and wrangling technology. They use a powerful calculation called schedule variance to measure project progress. Schedule variance can be calculated manually by hand, but it is much more effective to use project management software such as ProjectManager. Schedule variance allows project managers to bring data into the conversation and measure actual progress against expected progress. To calculate Schedule Variance, subtract the Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) from the Basic Cost of Work Performed (BCWP).

All values used will be a monetary figure (USD, GBP, etc.). Project managers are responsible for determining whether a project is ahead or behind schedule and over or under budget. This is done by plugging the numbers into the schedule variance formula: BCWP ($25,000) – BCWS ($50,000) = SV (-$25,000). If the resulting number is a positive number, then the project is ahead of schedule and if the schedule variance comes out as zero, the project is exactly where it should be. Using a project management dashboard to calculate SV can save valuable time and resources.