Planned Value and Earned Values with different P6 Settings

When using an XER file in Primavera P6, you may notice discrepancies in the schedule’s planned values, which can result in incorrect earned value calculations and misaligned project performance data. Fortunately, you can resolve this issue by adjusting a specific setting in Primavera’s Admin Preferences. This problem often occurs when importing or exporting XER files, causing the planned and earned values to differ between the source and destination Primavera P6.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps to fix planned values and earned values and ensure they align correctly with the updated schedule or with the baseline.

Understanding the Issue

Planned values in Primavera P6 represent the cost or effort scheduled to be incurred over time. When an XER file is exported, Primavera’s settings for earned value calculation might not match the original project’s configuration. This mismatch can cause planned values to appear incorrectly, as Primavera calculates earned value based on default preferences.

To address this, you need to ensure that the Baseline has no updates in it and is assigned properly in the Schedule, you need to adjust how Primavera calculates earned value, ensuring it aligns with the planned values from the imported XER file.

This issue mainly arises when the assigned baseline has actuals, P6 is calculating earned value using one of three cases as follows:

1.       At complete values with current dates

2.       Budgeted values with current dates

3.       budgeted values with planned dates

we are going to check the earned values through the schedule when the Baseline has actuals and no actuals with these 3 cases of calculating the earned values.

From Project Menu < Maintain Baseline

As you see here for the updated schedule we have 2 Baselines, the first baseline is the main baseline of the project, and the second baseline is converting the updated schedule as a baseline.

We will use the baseline with no updates in the first and see how calculating the earned value affects the planned Values.

Step 1: Open Assign Baseline

(In case there are no updates in the assigned baseline)

Put the Project Baseline in the project Baseline and User baseline too

1.       From Project Menu < Choose Assign Baseline

Step 2: Open Admin Preferences

The first step is to access the Admin Preferences in Primavera P6:

1. Navigate to the Admin menu.
2. Select Admin Preferences from the dropdown.

Step 3: Navigate to the Earned Value Tab

Once in the Admin Preferences window:

1. Click on the Earned Value tab.
2. Review the settings under the Earned Value Calculation section.

This is the first Value Calculation as “Budgeted Values with Planned Dates ”

The Budgeted Values with Planned Dates for Earned Value $937 and $4,193

Step 4: Adjust Earned Value Calculation Settings

To fix the planned values:

1. Locate the setting labeled Earned Value Calculation
2. Navigate the Values options
   • All three options won’t change anything in the Planned Value as we assigned a baseline free from any updates so the budgeted values with Current dates are as same as the budgeted values with the planned Dates also the same as At Completion Values with current date.

We will show you that the 3 choices will give you the same Planned Values as the baseline is assigned correctly as follows

This is the “At Completion Values with Current Dates” and the Planned Value is $763

This is the “Budgeted Values with Current Dates” and the Planned Value is $763 also

You will notice that the earned value and the planned value are equal in the two cases but when we assign the updated schedule as a baseline all these values will change accordingly

This is a brief about the Earned Value Calculations when the Baseline is assigned.

Earned Value Calculation	EV RECOMMENDED COURSE Cost Control for Construction Projects Course WhatsApp Support Group All enrolled trainees get an invitation to the course WhatsApp support group, where our team answers your questions… 805 students WhatsApp support group Certificate View course	PV
budgeted values with planned dates	937	4,193
At complete values with current dates	937	763
Budgeted values with current dates	937	763

Step 5: Assign the updated Schedule as a Baseline

Put the updated schedule in the project Baseline and User baseline again.

2.       From Project Menu < Choose Assign Baseline

Before checking the Earned Value Calculation, you may notice that the Planned Values differ from those when the baseline is assigned.

Step 6: Open Admin Preferences

The first step is to access the Admin Preferences in Primavera P6:

1.       Navigate to the Admin menu.

2.       Select Admin Preferences from the dropdown.

Step 7: Navigate to the Earned Value Tab

Once in the Admin Preferences window:

1.       Click on the Earned Value tab.

2.       Review the settings under the Earned Value Calculation section.

The Budgeted Values with current dates give the planned value of $1453 while the earned value is $937

We are going to change the Earned Value Calculations to “Budgeted Values with the planned dates” You can see the change in the Planned Values changes to $763. If the planned values do not change, you shall schedule your project to see the changes in the planned values.

When applying “At Completion values with current dates” here the Planned Value with another different value which is $1356, and the earned value is $860

Step 5: Recalculate and Review

To ensure accuracy across the project:

1. Recalculate the project by selecting Tools > Recalculate Project Data.
2. Review the earned value metrics to confirm they are now correctly aligned with the planned values.

Best Practices to Avoid Future Issues

• Consistency Across Projects: Ensure that the earned value calculation settings are consistent across all shared or imported projects.
• Documentation: Maintain clear records of the earned value settings used in each project to avoid confusion.

Conclusion

Fixing planned values after importing an XER file into Primavera P6 is a straightforward process when you adjust the earned value calculation settings. By configuring Primavera to calculate earned value from planned values, you can ensure accurate reporting and analysis of project performance.

Follow the steps outlined in this guide to resolve discrepancies and maintain consistency across imported schedules. For further clarification, screenshots of the process can be added for better understanding.

Download the Resources of this Article

Planned Value and Earned Values with different P6 Settings 521.88 KB 662 downloads

This File is included in the following course(s)

Intermediate, Professional Planning

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