🚩 5 EVMS Red Flags That Spell Trouble—And How to Fix Them
Too many programs think EVMS is just about reporting metrics. But real performance insight depends on spotting the early signs that your system is off track.
Here are 5 red flags you can’t afford to ignore:
1. 🚫 Cost and Schedule NOT Integrated
→ If your schedule shows slippage but your cost data doesn't, your EVMS is blind in one eye.
✅ Fix: Integrate and ensure the IMS drives the cost tool. Without integration, performance data becomes disconnected and misleading.
2. 🌀 Excessive LOE (Level of Effort)
→ LOE overuse masks true performance. If more than ~25–30% of your baseline is LOE, you're likely distorting true progress.
✅ Fix: Convert to discrete where possible. Measure real work.
3. 📉 TCPI vs. CPI Gap Exceeds 10%
→ If your TCPI is more than 10% higher than your actual CPI, your EAC is likely unrealistic.
✅ Fix: Recalculate your EAC using current performance trends. Don’t prop it up with wishful targets.
4. 🔁 Recurring Root Cause in a VAR Month After Month
→ If the same root cause appears month after month in a VAR, that’s not control—it signals unresolved issues, not meaningful analysis.
✅ Fix: Implement closed-loop corrective actions—track issues from root cause to resolution and verify completion.
5. 👤 CAMs can’t explain their baseline or ETCs
→ If Control Account Managers can’t walk through their budgets, schedules, or how their ETCs were developed, your EVMS has become a paperwork exercise. Worse, if ETCs are being adjusted just to make EACs “look good,” you’ve lost performance integrity.
✅ Fix: Re-engage CAMs with full ownership of their baselines. ETCs must reflect the remaining effort—not backsolved math. A credible system starts with informed, accountable CAMs.
👉 At Elixir Value Management Systems, Inc., we help government contractors turn EVMS from a reporting obligation into a performance-driving asset—fully aligned across scope, cost, and schedule.
📞 Let’s Talk!
📧 karlo.menoscal@elixirvms.com
📱 949-351-8896
🌐 www.elixirvms.com
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