Rating: 
Summary: Nice overview - lacks detail
Review: A very good introductory text on the subject of Earned Value for projects. The text is written almost as a "white paper", wherein the main thesis is to advance the EVM concept as a viable method of cost management and prediction. Unfortunately in this respect, the books contains very little detail or specific numerical examples that the reader can follow and double-check or solidify their understanding with. The authors are closely connected to Primavera Systems (co-founder, consultant) ... maybe they don't want us to understand too much about the computations, lest we discover the simplicity of the programming. To be fair, they hardly mention Primavera software (P3, Suretrak). Real-world examples are severely lacking, and would provide much more credibility to a concept that has been slow to become an industry standard. This is a good text which will remain in my library ... although in a dusty darkened corner.
Rating:
Summary: Nice overview - lacks detail
Review: A very good introductory text on the subject of Earned Value for projects. The text is written almost as a "white paper", wherein the main thesis is to advance the EVM concept as a viable method of cost management and prediction. Unfortunately in this respect, the books contains very little detail or specific numerical examples that the reader can follow and double-check or solidify their understanding with. The authors are closely connected to Primavera Systems (co-founder, consultant) ... maybe they don't want us to understand too much about the computations, lest we discover the simplicity of the programming. To be fair, they hardly mention Primavera software (P3, Suretrak). Real-world examples are severely lacking, and would provide much more credibility to a concept that has been slow to become an industry standard. This is a good text which will remain in my library ... although in a dusty darkened corner.
Rating: 
Summary: Application of Earned Value can avoid legal problems.
Review: As explained in Chapter 12, applying Earned Value concepts on projects in a publicly traded company may avoid legal problems surrounding accurate reporting of the financial situation of a company. This is because most projects if not completed could result in inaccurate financial reporting for a publicly traded company (if some form of performance measurement wasn't used while the project was in progress). It is interesting that this book was written before the accounting scandals of 2001-2002 and one of the few books that addresses this aspect. I don't know how much of the accounting scandals involved projects but I wouldn't be surprised if the SEC starts imposing stricter rules on the financial reporting surrounding projects in the future.This book is an excellent treatise on how to measure project performance from both a cost and schedule perspective. This is what Earned Valued Analysis is all about. The book never gets too complicated and is easy to follow the whole way (200 pages). A word of caution - this may be too much material to digest if you are trying to prepare for the PMP. Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep has enough information on Earned Value Analysis that will easily help you get through that section on the PMP exam. But as soon as you obtain your PMP certification, I would highly recommend making the mastery of the material in this book your next goal. The real payoff in applying the project management principles comes when you are able to measure the project performance on top of controlling project performance and presenting the results to your project sponsors. By the way, the concepts involved in Earned Value Analysis are extremely simple. It is amazing that so much control over your project can be attained by paying attention to the simple concepts of Earned Value, Planned Value, Actual Cost, and the related concepts of CPI and SPI. After setting up the project baseline to calculate these variables on a frequent basis, you are ready to control and predict the future of the project. The first four chapters of the book go into the overall concepts and the history of Earned Value. Chapters 5-10 address how to set up your project for fully utilizing the power of the Earned Value concepts - all the way from setting up the scope of the project to forecasting. Chapter 11 discusses how the concepts apply to the private sector and Chapter 12 deals with the legal implications. The authors are related to Primavera Systems (the leading provider of Project Management Software for the Engineering & Construction industries) either as CEO or consultant to Primavera. PMI used to recommend this as required reading to prepare for the PMP exam but I am not sure if they still do. In either case, I don't believe it is required reading. I tried to read it before the PMP exam and I couldn't digest the material because there was too much on my mind already. But now that I have passed the PMP exam, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning the concepts and applying them to my current projects. I hope everyone masters this subject and more projects in the world would end up successful. Good luck!
Rating: 
Summary: EV - Great for the RIGHT situation
Review: Earned Value is a great Project Management tool when the situation is right. In my mind, the "right" situation is where you work for a large company where the deliverables are WELL defined in terms of monetary value and the expected duration of the work. In these cases EV can be really useful for keeping track of your work and budget status as well as forecasting. This book does a great job of explaining what EV is and how to use it effectively. One point that I felt it does not cover well is defining how you get your "EV." This is actually a very straightforward process that I felt the author should have spent at least a few paragraphs on. Overall...If I was building a plane...say with a budget of $10 million and had 2.5 years to build it in; then I would definitely use EV and this book as a reference guide. Todd Shyres, PMP, CISSP
Rating:
Summary: Just Enough
Review: Earned Value Project Management provides project managers with "just enough" to understand and begin using earned value analysis on projects. Koppelman and Fleming have distilled a complex and often intimidating subject and have made it immediately applicable to projects in any industry. I use this book to explain EVM concepts to my students and find it an invaluable tool in my own work as a project manager.
Rating:
Summary: Just Enough
Review: Earned Value Project Management provides project managers with "just enough" to understand and begin using earned value analysis on projects. Koppelman and Fleming have distilled a complex and often intimidating subject and have made it immediately applicable to projects in any industry. I use this book to explain EVM concepts to my students and find it an invaluable tool in my own work as a project manager.
Rating:
Summary: From a PM viewpoint
Review: I've been a project manager for about 20 years, but have just gone back to get my Master's in PM. This book was used as a textbook in one of my classes. It provides the clearest, most concise directions for using earned value I have seen. I highly recommend it for all PMs, and anyone trying to get their management to buy into the concept of earned value.
Rating:
Summary: From a PM viewpoint
Review: I've been a project manager for about 20 years, but have just gone back to get my Master's in PM. This book was used as a textbook in one of my classes. It provides the clearest, most concise directions for using earned value I have seen. I highly recommend it for all PMs, and anyone trying to get their management to buy into the concept of earned value.
Rating: 
Summary: OVERLY COMPLICATED
Review: IF YOU ENJOY READING DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS THEN BUY THIS BOOK. Microsoft Project 2002 calculates Earned Value and explains the concepts in PLAIN ENGLISH in the help menu. This is a typical PMI publication:
POORLY WRITTEN, OVERLY COMPLICATED and BORING.
Rating:
Summary: A Simplistic Look at a Valuable Tool
Review: Joel Koppelman and Quentin Fleming have provided project managers with a practical and readable review of the history, purpose and use of an invaluable tool - earned value. There is nothing difficult about the concept. Its focus is the accurate measurement of physical performance against a detailed plan to accurately predict finished costs and schedule. It requires a project's scope be defined and integrated with all of the available resources. If used properly, the calculation provides an early indicator of project slippage or the scope of project cost overruns. The book would rate, in my mind, a five-star rating if the authors included practical examples or a few case studies.
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