Schedule variance (SV) is calculated as the difference between earned value (EV) and planned value (PV). How much value have we earned in the project based on our budget at completion (BAC) and what percentage of work has been completed and how much did we plan to have spent by this point in the project?
Formula
SV = EV – PV
[hint: EV always comes first in the earned value calculations of CV, CPI, SV, and SPI]
If you have a negative balance in your bank account, is that good or bad? It’s bad, right? Remember that holds true with schedule variance as well. If we have a negative schedule variance it means that we are behind schedule.
A positive SV indicates that we are trending ahead of schedule. A variance of zero indicates the project is exactly on schedule (does that really happen?)