How do you review and audit a planning package in EVM?
A planning package is a work breakdown structure (WBS) element that contains work that is not yet defined enough to be assigned to a control account or a work package. It represents future work that will be decomposed into smaller units later in the project. In earned value management (EVM), a planning package helps to estimate the total budget and schedule of the project, as well as to measure the progress and performance of the work.
A planning package is not a static entity, but a dynamic one that evolves as the project scope, requirements, risks, and assumptions change. Therefore, it is important to review and audit a planning package periodically to ensure that it reflects the current and realistic plan of the project, and that it is aligned with the project objectives, scope, and deliverables. A review and audit of a planning package can also help to identify and resolve any issues, gaps, or inconsistencies in the project plan, as well as to improve the accuracy and reliability of the EVM data and analysis.
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This contains inaccuracies. A planning package is assigned to a control account, but the work is not yet authorised to be performed. It is defined enough to distribute the budget to the scope, although the estimates should be periodically reviewed. It is not used to measure performance. It will make up part of the Budget at Completion and Estimate at Completion, but as the work is planned and not started, there is no performance to measure.
When reviewing and auditing a planning package, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, as different projects may have different criteria, standards, and methods. Generally, you should define the scope and objectives of the review and audit, and establish the roles of the participants. Additionally, review the documentation of the planning package for completeness, accuracy, and validity. Audit the processes of the planning package to evaluate their compliance, effectiveness, and efficiency. Report your findings and recommendations to the relevant stakeholders. Document any issues, risks, opportunities, and actions that need to be taken to improve or update the planning package. Finally, follow up on their implementation and resolution.
Reviewing and auditing a planning package can provide several benefits for the project management and EVM practice, such as enhancing credibility and confidence of the plan and data, improving visibility of project status and performance, increasing agility and flexibility of the plan, and promoting continuous improvement. These benefits are achieved by ensuring that the assumptions and estimates are realistic and reliable, identifying any variances or anomalies that may affect objectives or outcomes, enabling timely adjustments to the planning package in response to changes, and capturing lessons learned from review and audit activities.
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