You are at the end of a project and discover that the project is forecast to be under budget but behind schedule; which earned value metric would you review to confirm schedule performance?

• A. Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Schedule Variance (SV)
• B. Cost Performance Index (CPI)
• C. Cost Variance (CV)
• D. Schedule Baseline

Answer: (A)

When a project is forecast to be behind schedule, you verify schedule performance using earned value metrics that relate what’s been earned to what was planned. The two metrics that directly measure schedule are the Schedule Performance Index and Schedule Variance. The Schedule Performance Index compares earned value to planned value to show how efficiently you’re delivering on the schedule; if SPI is less than 1, you’re behind. Schedule Variance looks at the difference between earned value and planned value, signaling how far behind (or ahead) you are in monetary terms. Since you’re behind schedule, you’d expect SPI < 1 and SV < 0, indicating schedule lag. Cost-based metrics like CPI or CV describe cost performance and won’t confirm schedule status, and the Schedule Baseline is the plan you compare against, not a metric itself. For example, with planned value 1000 and earned value 800, SV is -200 and SPI is 0.8, illustrating schedule lag despite being under budget.