What is Schedule Variance (SV) in project management?

Schedule Variance (SV) = Earned Value (EV) minus Planned Value (PV). A positive SV means more work has been completed than was planned by this point (ahead of schedule). A negative SV means less work has been completed than planned (behind schedule).

What does an SPI less than 1.0 mean?

A Schedule Performance Index (SPI) below 1.0 means the project is completing less work per time period than planned — it is behind schedule. SPI above 1.0 means the project is completing more work than planned — it is ahead of schedule. An SPI of exactly 1.0 means the project is perfectly on schedule.

How is Earned Value (EV) different from Planned Value (PV)?

Planned Value (PV) is the budgeted value of work that was supposed to be done by a specific date. Earned Value (EV) is the budgeted value of work that has actually been completed. If EV < PV, you are behind schedule regardless of how much money has been spent.

How is the estimated duration calculated?

Estimated Duration = Planned Duration ÷ SPI. If SPI is 0.8 and the project was planned for 20 weeks, the estimated duration is 20 ÷ 0.8 = 25 weeks — 5 weeks longer than planned, assuming the current schedule performance continues.

What is the difference between Schedule Variance and Cost Variance?

Schedule Variance (SV = EV − PV) measures time performance — whether work is completed on schedule. Cost Variance (CV = EV − AC) measures budget performance — whether spending is within budget. A project can be behind schedule and under budget, or on schedule and over budget, simultaneously.

Schedule Variance Calculator

Name: Schedule Variance Calculator
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Enter Earned Value (EV) and Planned Value (PV) to calculate Schedule Variance (SV) and Schedule Performance Index (SPI) for your project.

Project Schedule Inputs

Enter values in your project's currency.

Earned Value (EV) *

Budgeted value of work completed to date.

Planned Value (PV) *

Budgeted value of work scheduled by now.

Completion Estimate — optional

Budget at Completion (BAC)

Planned Duration (weeks)

Enter EV and PV, then click Calculate.

EVM Schedule Formulas

SV= EV − PV

SPI= EV ÷ PV

SV%= (SV ÷ PV) × 100

Est. Duration= Planned Duration ÷ SPI

Summary

Enter Earned Value (EV) and Planned Value (PV) to calculate Schedule Variance (SV) and Schedule Performance Index (SPI) for your project.

How it works

Enter the Earned Value (EV) — the budgeted cost of work actually performed so far.
Enter the Planned Value (PV) — the budgeted cost of work scheduled to be done by now.
Optionally enter Budget at Completion (BAC) and planned duration in weeks for a completion estimate.
The calculator computes SV (EV − PV) and SPI (EV ÷ PV) instantly.
Read the color-coded status to see if you are ahead of, on, or behind schedule.

Use cases

Check whether a software development project is running behind schedule mid-sprint.
Report EVM schedule metrics to stakeholders in weekly project status meetings.
Compare SPI across multiple project phases to detect schedule slippage early.
Estimate revised completion date when a project falls behind the baseline plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-01 · Reviewed by Nham Vu