Work Package Archives - Humphreys & Associates

Effective Use of Quantifiable Backup Data (QBD)

By Humphreys & Associates / October 1, 2025 / Control Account Managers, earned value management system, EVMS Implementation, Level of Effort, percent complete, QBD, Work Package

Control Account Managers, earned value management system, EVMS Implementation, Level of Effort, percent complete, QBD, Work Package

Effective Use of Quantifiable Backup Data (2)

One of the fundamental rules that contributes to generating useful information from an Earned Value Management System (EVMS) is planning the work in manageable segments to facilitate more accurate project performance status. The goal in selecting an appropriate earned value technique (EVT) for a work package or task is to use the most objective rationale possible for the nature of the work. This often becomes more challenging when the Percent Complete EVT is selected for a longer duration work package/task. That’s where the use of Quantifiable Backup Data (QBD) comes into play. Properly used, QBDs provide the necessary objective evidence to claim earned value.

QBDs are also sometimes referred to as “predetermined rationale” consisting of defined lower-level objective and measurable milestones or steps that when completed contribute to the overall work package/task percent complete. The work package/task percent complete is determined based on when the milestones or steps are accomplished and the weight, typically a percentage of the total budget, assigned to the milestones/steps.

What are the benefits of using QBDs?

QBDs help to ensure there is a clear definition of done for each milestone or step; earned value claimed is based on verifiable accomplishments. Project personnel can substantiate and communicate to other project stakeholders how they determined the current overall percent complete for a work package/task based on documented criteria. QBDs eliminate the subjectivity often associated with using the Percent Complete EVT.

Common Characteristics of Effective QBDs

Here is a short list of the expected characteristics of QBDs.

Specific, defined accomplishment criteria are established before work begins. The accomplishment criteria must clearly describe the objective measurable outcome or deliverable.
Documented and actively maintained. QBD details could be captured in a specific tool, database, or as additional attributes of the EVM data. Designated project personnel are responsible for “owning” and maintaining the QBD details; this is typically the control account manager (CAM). The QBD details should be accessible to all project stakeholders to review as needed for full transparency. There is a defined, repeatable process to track any scope changes to the QBD accomplishment criteria.
Used as the basis for performance measurement. As work progresses, the QBD owner tracks the milestones/steps and records when the accomplishment criteria are met. The QBD weight provides the objective basis to determine the current cumulative to date percent complete used to calculate the work package earned value.
They may or may not have a period of performance depending upon the nature of the work effort and QBDs. QBDs with a period of performance align with the scheduled time frame for the work package/task they support; this should be captured with the QBD details. When the QBDs are used solely to calculate task progress, they do not have a defined period of performance. They may be accomplished in any order.

Figure 1 provides an illustration of the use of QBDs with a period of performance.

Examples of Quantifiable Backup Data (QBD) — Figure 1: QBD Example for a Work Package Task in the IMS with Related Time-Phased Cost Data

What are common QBD issues?

H&A earned value consultants routinely provide hands-on support and guidance to our clients when there are issues with an EVMS implementation. Here is a short list of issues with the use of QBDs that they have observed on various engagements.

Generic QBDs that are not measurable and lack exit criteria. An example of generic QBD descriptions: Test Procedure Development Step 1, Test Procedure Development Step 2, and Test Procedure Development Step 3. Since there is no clear definition of what the steps entail, generic QBDs are subject to interpretation and not useful.
Ad-hoc methods to capture accomplishment/exit criteria. The QBD must be documented in a manner that others on a project can access and verify.
Weighting is not well defined or tied logically to the technical work. If the basis used to determine or substantiate the weighting is not known, the QBD is lacking an objective means to determine whether that weighting makes sense.
The time-phased cost values are not logically tied to the weighting. Classic case of failing to ensure the BCWS, BCWP, and ACWP are aligned in a given reporting period for accurate performance reporting. Figure 1 illustrates this requirement for data traceability between the QBDs and the time-phased cost data. It is easy to verify that the BCWS and BCWP for June (125.00) aligns with QBD #1 weight of 25% of the total budget (500).
Disguising level of effort (LOE) as discrete work effort with QBDs. Evidence of this: QBD weighting or time-phasing is level loaded.

Strategies for Ensuring the Effective Use of QBDs

All of these issues can be prevented with a focus on data quality and ensuring project personnel have the necessary tools and training. Here are a few successful strategies H&A earned value consultants have helped our clients to implement to ensure the effective use of QBDs.

Review your EVM System Description and any related procedures specific to QBD content. Has a repeatable process been defined that describes the expectations and requirements for the use of the QBDs for the entire project life-cycle? Establishing the QBD accomplishment/exit criteria details is an essential part of the project planning activities at the beginning of the project. Is there clear direction on when the use of QBDs are appropriate? A common example is when a supporting process such as Agile is providing the QBD information to claim earned value in the EVMS.
In support of the repeatable process, establish a common software tool or core EVM tool configuration that includes a means to capture the required QBD details. As part of the design criteria, be sure to allow for project specific configuration options in addition to the standard core data requirements. The objective is to make it easy for project personnel to capture the necessary data and reduce the likelihood of ad-hoc methods.
When it makes sense, create a QBD “library” of common, repeatable milestones/steps that include a crisp description, measurable outcome or deliverable, and rationale for the weighting that project personnel can use as a basis for their work packages/tasks. This works best when there is historical data to substantiate the total budget, duration, elements of cost, and weighting. A complexity factor may also be applied that is documented.
Conduct targeted training on how to properly document and maintain the QBD details following the documented process and using the tools of choice. Hands-on exercises and examples can help project personnel learn how to distill requirements into clear specific accomplishment/exit criteria and how that process saves time throughout the project execution phase. For example, it is easier to quickly track QBD progress. The basis for claiming earned value is transparent and auditable.
Include a review of the QBD details as part of any Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) to ensure clear accomplishment/exit criteria have been defined as well as to ensure they have been properly used. This helps to eliminate a number of QBD issues at the beginning of project including instances where LOE is disguised as discrete work effort.

Need help with your QBD planning and implementation?

H&A earned value consultants often assist clients with producing work or desktop instructions that help project personnel to address common issues with implementing an EVMS on their projects such as the proper and effective use of QBDs. H&A schedule, cost, and other toolset experts can help you to establish a core, common configuration to capture QBD details or collect supporting data from other software tools. Targeted and tailored training is one our core competencies – we can help you to enhance your training content to include QBD best practice content and exercises. We also routinely conduct mock IBRs for our clients to ensure they are well-prepared for the event with their customer. Call us today to get started.

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Planning and Managing EVM by Elements of Cost (EOC) Example: Building a Backyard Patio – Part 1

By Humphreys & Associates / March 1, 2019 / Control Account, earned value management, earned value training, Elements of Cost, EVM, EVM Training, Planning Package, Work Package

Control Account, earned value management, earned value training, Elements of Cost, EVM, EVM Training, Planning Package, Work Package

What are “Elements of Cost”?

Labor, Materials, Subcontracts, Other Direct Costs, and their Indirect Costs (Overhead including General and Administrative —G&A) are the typical building blocks for any project: personal projects and projects we manage for the customers we support. These items are also what the Earned Value Management System (EVMS) Guidelines call elements of cost (or EOCs). So, when the Guidelines call for us to plan and manage by EOC, it really should not cause us any undue anxiety – it is just the natural way to manage any project.

Example: Outdoor Backyard Patio

Let’s use a simple home project example of building an outdoor backyard patio: What do you have to do to determine how much it will cost for this Backyard Patio Project (BPP if you like acronyms)? Generally, you look at such things as:

How much concrete; lumber for decking; nails, screws, bolts, washers, and other hardware, etc.; and weather-coating and paints/stains you will need (Material Element of Cost – EOC).
Work you cannot do by yourself: electricity for lights and power, and natural gas for the Barbecue/fireplace (Subcontract EOC).
Work you will do yourself (Labor EOC).
Costs unique to this project’s completion, such as: Home Owners Association permits, building code permits, local excavation application fee, etc. (Other Direct Cost EOC).
Costs incurred that do not necessarily go into the final product, such as: cleaning supplies, brooms, solvents, turpentine, weather tarpaulins, lighting and electricity, etc. (Indirect Costs/Overheads).

Unfortunately, when operating under the EVM requirement, often managers tend to overthink, and sometimes over apply the management of EOCs. Let’s look at the overthinking part first.

Overthinking EOCs

Guideline 9 of the EIA Standard 748 (Revision D) for EVM Systems requires:

Establish budgets for authorized work with identification of significant cost elements (labor, material, etc.) as needed for internal management and for control of subcontractors.

Some might propose: “I’ll have one Work Package for the Control Account with all the EOCs in it, and I’ll be okay.” That might meet the intent of that first part of the guideline, but would probably fail the requirement that says “as needed for internal management and control of subcontractors.” For example, what EV technique would you use for a “work package” that had labor, material, and subcontract work in it? The labor occurs as the work is performed, the material might be earned at the point of receipt on the dock, and the subcontract might earn value with the receipt of an Integrated Program Management Data and Analysis Report (IPMDAR) dataset at the end of a month. Since the Control Account (CA) has one total dollar budget, the “identification of significant cost elements” has to occur at the Work Package (WP) and Planning Package (PP) level within the CA, which requires each WP and PP to be identified as one of the EOCs mentioned above.

For Instance

In our example, if we lumped concrete and lumber into one “Material WP” and we incurred a serious overrun in material, how would we identify what caused the overrun: the concrete pour or the lumber portion? These are different categories of material that would “earn value” (be accomplished) in different ways and at different times. In order to determine the “guilty party” in the overrun, we should also have separate WPs for the different significant material categories. Some might call these major, or high value, or critical material items, which should be tracked separately.

On the other hand, for the lower-value materials, it may not be significant enough to management to know that a variance might have been caused by a 1-cent washer or a pint of deck stain. Consequently, a grouping of these low-value material items may be all that is required for visibility. Conversely, Management might actually want to break out categories such as, separating the paints/stains, and weather-coating from the nuts, bolts, washers and other hardware, since they are different categories of low-value material that could also earn value differently.

Indirect Cost Rates Must be Applied Properly

For Indirect Costs, some contractors put the burden of planning and managing these overhead costs on the CAMs, while others apply the indirect rates at a summary level of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) or organizational structure. Regardless of how a particular contractor does it, the indirect cost rates must be applied properly to the various direct elements of cost:

Material handling charges applied to material items
Indirect Labor rates applied to the direct labor hours
Subcontract overhead applied to the subcontract direct costs
ODC overheads charged to the ODCs identified.

Applying and managing overheads at the CA level would entail hundreds of applications across the number of Control Accounts on a project, but applying these at a summary level would require only a handful of Overhead lines in reports. Doing so would significantly reduce the number of possible errors in application – which is why many contractors do not require CAMs to “manage” overheads in their Control Accounts. [Our BPP example does not have the above types of Indirect Costs that are related to specific Direct Costs, but it does have its own specific Overheads related to the labor to build the Patio.]

Humphreys & Associates is available for earned value training and consulting. Give us a call!

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