This article will familiarize you with the overview, best use, interpretation, deployment, and data dependencies of Schedule Deviation.
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Overview
The Schedule Deviation metric indicates the slippage in the project schedule. In other words, it shows the percentage of time taken to complete the task. It is the difference between actual schedules and planned schedules, which indicates how well your project is in progress.
Schedule Deviation is calculated using this formula:
(Actual Finish Date – Baseline Finish Date) * 100
Schedule Deviation = ——————————————————————————————-
(Baseline Finish Date – Baseline Start Date) + 1
Note: The difference of days in the numerator and denominator in the formula is calculated assuming the working days are Monday to Friday. It does not refer Project calendar, or any exception added to the project calendar.
Where the Actual Finish Date is the date on which the task is being completed and is marked as done. The Actual Finish Date is considered when the Phase (corresponding MSP Task) is closed and if the Phase (corresponding MSP Task) is open, the Planned Finish Date is considered.
Baseline Start and Finish Date = Baseline Start and Finish Date is from the Current Baseline (Baseline 0 in MSP).
Interpretation:
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A negative (-ve) value for this metric indicates that the project is well within the scheduled date and moving forward according to the plan.
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A positive (+ve) value for this metric indicates that the project activities have consumed more time than what was planned for it, either because of scope creep or poor estimation and the project may slip for planned finish date and needs some corrective measures.
Best Use:
For Development projects, this metric should be plotted by Project, whereas for Maintenance/Sustenance projects, the ‘Task-Plan-wise’ view is more relevant.
Deployment:
This metric is available at the Project level. You can group the data by Project or Task Plan.
Data Dependencies:
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The actual Schedule is considered from approved timesheets only.
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This metric is computed for ‘Closed’ tasks.
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Only ‘Working Days’ are considered while computing the difference in schedule/actual dates for computing the ‘Schedule Deviation’ as per the formula explained above.