Good Topics for a Research Paper on Earned Value Management
Earned Value Management, or EVM, is a project management technique endorsed by a number of federal government bodies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and certain regulatory bodies. EVM is greatly relied upon in procurement. The 32 EVM criteria were enshrined for private industry in 1998 in the American National Standard Institute's ANSI EIA 748-A standard. The standard was slightly revised in 2009 and is now ANSI EIA 748-B.
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EVM Pioneers
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A neglected area of research is the relationship between contemporary EVM and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth's pioneering application of scientific study to industrial management in the early 20th century.
PERT
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An easily researched topic would be a comparison of the Project Evaluation and Review Technique, or PERT, management model and EVM. Particular attention could be paid to the use of critical path analysis in conjunction with PERT and how EVM incorporates lessons from both.
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C/SCSC
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What factors led the U.S. Department of Defense to abandon Cost/Schedule Control Systems Criteria, or C/SCSC, methodology in the late 1980s and how EVM resolved these factors?
Acquisition Reform Movement
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The government acquisition reform movement of the 1990s was instrumental in elevating EVM to its current status. Why is EVM part of the solution?
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
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A good research paper could be done on the process that led the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to adopt EVM as a standard of proof supporting compliance with mandatory internal control procedures for public companies.
Scaling
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Why and when is it appropriate to scale down from full EVM implementation to suit individual projects and the skill level of project personnel?
Criteria
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The 32 criteria used in EVM: what they are, why they are used and where they came from. Hint: C/SCSC used 35 criteria.
Earning Rules
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What EVM earning rule is appropriate under what circumstance?
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References
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