To do Earned Value, we need a well-defined scope; we need a WBS and a detailed schedule. It is essential we have ways to measure progress and analyse the status of the project, and we need to forecast the future. By using Earned Value techniques, we put emphasis in all of those areas. In many cases Earned Value can be viewed as a framework that shows how the different pieces of project management fit together. Even if it is overkill for our project, it still shows the importance of planning, execution and control. There are concepts and portions of earned value that can and, in fact, must be used on any project.

Earned Value is not a software product or tool. It is a collection of management practices that are used to establish and maintain a performance measurement baseline from which to measure and analyse performance, identify variances to the baseline and forecast the project outcome. Earned Value effectively integrates the work scope of a project or program with the schedule and cost elements for optimum program planning and control to support project management decisions-making.