Variances - Overview

GovCon: Variances

Why Would Customer Use?

EV variance gives customers objective, data-driven insight into how their projects are performing—enabling better control, compliance, and confidence in project outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What is Earned Value variance?
  The difference between planned performance and actual performance on a project, measured in terms of cost or schedule. It's a core component of Earned Value Management (EVM) that shows how well a project is adhering to its budget and timeline.

• Why would a customer use EV variance?
  It provides objective, data-driven insight into project performance - enabling better control, compliance, and confidence. Specific benefits include tracking project health, supporting informed decision-making, improving forecasting, ensuring accountability, enabling risk mitigation, and meeting compliance requirements common in government and defense contracts.

• Does EV variance require an additional fee?
  Yes. An annual fee is required, and the GovCon module must also be enabled. Contact Sales before enabling this feature for any customer.

• How do I create a variance reporting rule?
  Go to Administration > System > Earned Value Management > Variances tab, then:

  • Click Add to create a new rule

  • Set the Name, Variance Type, Calculation Type, Decimal Place, Percentage or Currency format, Condition, and Thresholds

  • Click Save, then repeat for each additional rule

  • Add Variance to the Project Toolbar when finished

• What EV attributes can I use when building conditions?
  Twenty attributes are available, including ACWP, BCWP, BCWS, BCWR, ETC, EAC, and BAC - each available in both cost and hours variants, with cumulative versions for most.

• What conditions must be met before navigating to Variances?
  Three things must be in place:

  • The Status Date must be set

  • Active, approved baselines must exist for PMB (Performance Measurement Baseline), MTH (Monthly Time-Phased Baseline), and ETC (Estimate to Complete)

  • The EAC Analysis page must have been refreshed (this automatically refreshes Variance data)

• How are variances generated?
  Automatically, based on the conditions configured by the Administrator. No manual calculation is needed. Navigate to Variance from the project toolbar and results will display.

• What do positive and negative variances mean?

  • Negative variance — the project is over budget or behind schedule; earned value is less than planned value or actual cost. Requires attention.

  • Positive variance — the project is under budget or ahead of schedule; earned value exceeds planned value or actual cost. A favorable indicator.

• How do I set RAG thresholds?
  Under Settings, select each variance rule and assign Red, Amber, and Green threshold values. These thresholds determine the color-coded status indicators displayed in the Variance view.

• How can I customize the Variance view?
  Several options are available:

  • Column Kabob Menu — filter and sort by column

  • Date Range Selector — narrow data to a specific period

  • Show Columns — display only relevant columns

  • Export to Excel — download data for sharing outside Cora

  • Save Views — preserve custom filters, columns, and layouts

  • Expand Screen — maximize the view to reduce scrolling

  • Group Data — drag and drop column headers to reorganize data