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Thresholds Page of the New Resource File Wizard

Use this page to define acceptable cost and schedule variances.

When a cost variance or schedule variance exceeds the predefined threshold, they are highlighted in either red for unfavorable (negative) or green for favorable (positive. These thresholds, or tolerances, define how large cost variances (Earned Value - Actual Cost) and/or schedule variances (Earned Value - Budget) must be before Cobra triggers exception reporting mechanisms.

Using thresholds is known as management by exception and is an efficient way to manage a project. Instead of micro-managing the entire project, you only focus on areas that exceed the predefined threshold.

Schedule Variance

A schedule variance is a metric for the schedule performance of a project. It is the algebraic difference between earned value and the budget (Schedule Variance = Earned Value - Budget). A positive value is a favorable condition while a negative value is unfavorable.

Field Description
Current period This field refers to the schedule variance for the current period. Use the Favorable and Unfavorable drop-down lists to define tolerances for this field. Your options are discussed in detail below.
Cumulative This field refers to the cumulative schedule variance. Use the Favorable and Unfavorable drop-down lists to define tolerances for this field. Your options are discussed in detail below.

Cost Variance

A cost variance is a metric for the cost performance of a project. It is the algebraic difference between earned value and actual cost (Cost Variance = Earned Value - Actual Cost). A positive value indicates a favorable position and a negative value indicates an unfavorable condition.

Field Description
Current period This field refers to the cost variance for the current period. Use the Favorable and Unfavorable drop-down lists to define tolerances for this field. Your options are discussed in detail below.
Cumulative This field refers to the cumulative cost variance. Use the Favorable and Unfavorable drop-down lists to define tolerances for this field. Your options are discussed in detail below.
At complete This field refers to the cost variance at project completion. Use the Favorable and Unfavorable drop-down lists to define tolerances for this field. Your options are discussed in detail below.

Threshold Options

Use the following options to define the threshold settings for the Schedule Variance and Cost Variance fields.
Value Definition
None The code file will not use thresholds or tolerances.
Percent Cobra will define the schedule variance as a percentage amount.
Value Cobra will define the schedule variance as an absolute amount.
Both Cobra will define the schedule variance using both the percentage amount and the absolute value.

You can modify the threshold settings afterwards on the Thresholds tab of the Resource File Properties dialog box. To specify threshold values for a resource, use the Thresholds tab of the Resource view.