The Post Weekly Data utility enables you to more closely manage budget, performance and actuals for each project. With this utility you can spot negative trends more quickly and take corrective action. It provides the means to calculate, store and report earned value on a weekly basis. You can track hours and dollars for BCWS, BCWP, ETC and ACWP for a three-month window that you define.
Only authorized users may access and use this feature. You must have been granted access to the project and to the Post Weekly Data feature within the project. Security for this feature is listed under the Project Maintenance options. (For details on setting up security for this feature, see Controlling Security Access.
Before you post weekly data, the Weekly Data Information section of the Calendar Setup must be completed. On the Calendar Setup dialog box you indicate whether your organization's calendar uses whole weeks or partial weeks. If partial weeks are selected, you select the starting day for each week and enter the number of hours in your workday. For details on setting up your calendar, see Creating, Changing and Saving Calendars.
You can post weekly data for Baseline, BCWP, Actuals or ETC. If you want to include BCWP in the data you are posting, you must calculate BCWP in the usual manner before you begin the posting process.
The posting start date, posting period, data types to be posted and the spreading method are specified on the Post Weekly Data dialog box. You can also limit the weekly posting to a specified WBS leg. You then run the Post Weekly Data utility.
Once your weekly data has been calculated and stored, you can:
Report the data with the Weekly Performance Report and Weekly EOC Report.
Export the data. Two formats are provided for exporting weekly data. You may select either WBS or EOC format.
Read the weekly table using Microsoft Access.
The Three Month Window Start drop-down list box contains the fiscal
months in the project calendar. The initial Three Month Window Start default
that appears before any data is posted is the previous fiscal month. The
default month may be changed by selecting a different month from the drop-down
list. After a week is posted, the start month is displayed to the right
of the list box.
Weekly data is stored in a rolling three month window. When the dates of
the three month window change, stored data falling outside the window
is removed from the weekly table.
The Posting Period drop-down list box contains the week beginning and ending dates in the three month window. The initial default date range that appears in the Posting Period box before any data is posted is the beginning and end date of the first week in the three month window. The default week may be changed by selecting a different week from the drop-down list. After a week has been posted, the Posting Period defaults to the last week posted. The last posted week is displayed to the right of the list box as the Last Posting Period.
You can post weekly data for Baseline, BCWP, Actuals or ETC. If you want to include BCWP in the data you are posting, you must calculate BCWP in the usual manner before you begin the posting process. If you want to include Actuals in the data you are posting, you must first import or manually enter the Actuals for that month.
When posting the weekly data, there are two spreading methods available for posting Baseline and ETC: Linear or Milestone. When you access the Post Weekly Data window, the system will always default to the last spreading method selected.
Linear — The Linear method uses the earliest resource start and the latest resource complete to determine the start and end of the spread. Each month's budget is spread linearly based on the available weeks and workdays in the month.
Milestone
— The Milestone method checks the earned value method (EVM) for each
WBS included in the data to be posted.
If the WBS is using a milestone EVM (Milestone Weights, 0/100, 25/75,
40/60, or 50/50), MPM determines the percentage for each milestone
by looking at the weight and date of the milestone. The percentage
is determined by dividing the total weight for all milestones in the
month by the weight of the milestones that fall within each week being
posted. The resulting weekly percentage is then multiplied by the
Baseline/ETC in the month to arrive at the weekly budget spread.
Even though you select Milestone as the spread method, the data being
posted may consist of WBS elements using a variety of EVMs; some EVMs
with milestones and some without. In that case, data is spread linearly
for any WBS using the following EVMs: Milestone Weights with Percent
Complete, % Complete, BCWP Entry, Level of Effort, Earned Standards,
or Key Event.
In order to generate accurate data, the posting of weekly data should always be done sequentially. Process Week 1, Week 2, etc. in sequence rather than processing Week 2 and then Week 1, Week 3, etc.
Once data for any given week has been posted, no changes should be made to the data. If changes are necessary:
Data must be posted in sequence again, beginning with the week in which changes to the data were made; or
You can make the change as of time now and see the change reflected in the current week. The cumulative for the month will be accurate.
If you skip Week 1 and then process for Week 2, BCWS/ETC will be spread for the entire three month window including Week 1 and Week 2 but all BCWP and Actuals will display only in Week 2. There will be no BCWP and Actuals in Week 1.
For LOE EVM, if no BCWS is posted for the three month window, then only posting BCWP would not show any BCWP values since there is no BCWS.
For LOE WBS ID's Weekly BCWP = Weekly BCWS through the posted week no matter what the monthly BCWP value is.
Before you begin posting weekly data, make sure you have completed the Weekly Data Information section of the Calendar Setup.
To post weekly data for a project, complete the following steps:
In the Project Maintenance window, select a project.
Open the project by clicking on the yellow folder icon adjacent to the project name.
Click Tools » Post Weekly Data. MPM displays the Post Weekly Data dialog box.
Select the Three Month Window Start from the list box. The dates that display in the list box are derived from the project calendar.
Select the Posting Period from the list box. The dates that display in the list box are derived from the project calendar and the defined three month window.
If appropriate, limit the posting by clicking the Browse button and selecting a WBS element from the Limit to WBS Leg box.
Check the types of data you want to post. You may select any or all of the data types.
If you want to include BCWP in the data you are posting, you must calculate BCWP in the usual manner before you begin the posting process.
If you want to include Actuals in the data you are posting, you must first import or manually enter the Actuals for that month.
Select either Linear or Milestone as the Spreading Method.
To accept the settings you have selected and begin posting, click OK.