GRACE PM EXCELLENCE ACADEMYAEC LEAD LLCSIDE 1 OF 2
PM FIELD RESOURCE · THE MONTHLY REVIEW
Find the position. Forecast the finish.
Steps 1 to 5. Run them on every phase before the prebill.
Grace’s RuleUpdate the Estimated Hours before you read any other number. Percent complete, Revenue, the invoice and the forecast all come from them.
01 Steps 1 to 5
1
Compare
Effort to date against the plan, the target and the Budget Effort.
All 3 measure money spent. Step 5 measures the work done.
Read: Effort, Budget Effort
2
Assess
Each major task against the Module 5 plan and the Phase Roadmap.
Review it with the team. List the open tasks.
Off the dashboard
3
Estimated Hours
Hours to date plus hours to finish, person by person.
You make sure the hours are updated by working with the Project Accountant.
BST: Estimated Hours
4
Estimated Effort
Estimated Hours × rate. The total effort to the end.
The Project Accountant updates EAC from it when the two differ by a large amount.
BST: Estimated Effort, EAC
5
Percent complete
Effort to date ÷ Estimated Effort.
Then compare Estimated Effort with the target effort to make the forecast.
Read: Revenue, Index
Percent complete = Effort to date ÷ Estimated Effort · Revenue = Percent complete × Budget Effort
02 The Numbers
| Number | How you get it | Oakhaven DD |
|---|
| Budget Effort | The contract fee for the Task. Grace says fee. | $280,000 |
| Target effort | Budget Effort less your profit goal. No column on the dashboard. | $224,000 |
| Effort | The burdened dollar value of the hours charged. Effort is cost. | $112,000 |
| Estimated Effort | Estimated Hours × rate. Your working forecast. | $280,000 |
| Effort Performance Index | Revenue ÷ Effort. 1.0 is break even. The plan is 1.25 at a 20 percent goal. | 1.00 |
03 Read the Forecast
| Where Estimated Effort lands | What it means |
|---|
| At or below the target effort | The phase keeps its planned profit. |
| Above the target, with profit at or above the floor | Profit drops below the plan. The phase is at risk. |
| Profit below the floor, or above the Budget Effort | Off track. Above the Budget Effort, the phase loses money. |
04 Worked Example · Oakhaven DD
What the review found
- $112,000 of Effort to date, on plan and 50 percent of the target
- Senior staff on the estimate reconciliation, and the elevations not started
- The team’s estimate brings Estimated Effort to $280,000
- 40 percent complete, $112,000 ÷ $280,000
- EAC still at $224,000, 25 percent low
- Forecast profit $0, none of the $56,000 plan
Sources. Module 9 videos 9A and 9B. BST terms as reviewed by the Grace BST trainer. Oakhaven is a fictional example.
GRACE PM EXCELLENCE ACADEMYAEC LEAD LLC SIDE 2 OF 2
PM FIELD RESOURCE · BILL, COLLECT, ACT
Bill, collect, judge, plan.
Steps 6 to 8 turn the position and the forecast into action.
05 Steps 6 to 8
6
Bill
Percent complete × Budget Effort, minus the total billed to date.
Bill every month. Unbilled Days above 30 means earned work waited more than one billing cycle.
Read: Revenue, Unbilled Days
7
Check the AR
Each open invoice and its age.
Make the specific ask at day 45. Call at day 60, with the PIC aware. Accounting follows up with accounts payable.
Module 3 AR Guide
J
Judge the state
On track, at risk or off track.
Use the forecast and the milestones. The Index shows only the profit earned to date.
Read: Schedule Variance Days
8
Plan the month
Who works on which task, hours by week, handoffs, recovery actions.
Schedule the hours in BST with the Project Accountant. Then tell the team the plan.
BST: Task Schedule Hours
Oakhaven DD invoice = 40% × $280,000, minus $84,000 billed = $28,000
06 The 3 States
| State | Test | Response |
|---|
| On track | Estimated Effort is at or below the target effort, and the work due is done. | Continue with the plan. |
| At risk | Forecast profit below the plan, and at or above the margin floor. Or an early warning in the weekly check. | Work the recovery levers. A gap you can close goes on next week’s PM Plan as a Priority. |
| Off track | Forecast profit below the margin floor, a missed milestone, or Estimated Effort above the Budget Effort. | Size the gap. Take a recommendation to the PIC with the situation, the options, your recommendation and the first action. |
07 The 4 Recovery Levers, In Order
1Close the open decision
A decision holds up the work or causes redraws.
2Rework the resource plan
Give each task to the lowest cost role that can do it well.
3Re scope the work
Fit the remaining work to the remaining Budget Effort.
4Price the changes
Scope changes cause the problem. Go to Module 10.
Oakhaven DD is off track. Forecast profit is $0. No open decision causes the gap, so the Project Manager uses lever 2. The recommendation to the PIC is to move the elevations to a second Design Professional and reduce senior and Principal time to oversight and review.
08 The Weekly Check
Every week, before the team meeting
- Compare hours. Task Schedule Hours against the timesheet hours for the week
- Check the work. The tasks those hours were meant to finish
- Hours on plan, work behind. An early warning. The phase is at risk
- Hours under plan, work behind. Short staffing, or a late start
- Hours Remaining below zero. The team charges faster than scheduled
- Fix it with the Project Accountant. Add Estimated Hours, or remove future hours
The One Thing To Remember
Name the state, then do its response this month.
Off track goes to the PIC as a recommendation. At risk goes on next week’s PM Plan as a Priority.