EVMS Guidelines
Government Standards
Reviewed by forProject Technology - updated Sep 2026
Quick definition: The EVMS Guidelines are the 27 standard requirements, established under ANSI/EIA-748-E, that define what a compliant Earned Value Management System must do.
The guidelines cover five process areas: organization, planning and budgeting, accounting, analysis, and revisions. Together they define a sound EVMS. A contractor's system is evaluated against them, not against any particular software tool. Revision E reduced the count from 32 to 27, merging guidelines within the same five areas. Much existing documentation and contract language still refers to the 32 guidelines of Revision D.
What this means for you
The EVMS Guidelines give contractors and government customers a shared, objective standard for what good Earned Value Management looks like. Meeting them is often a contractual requirement on larger government contracts, and compliance with them is what gives customers confidence in the reported performance data.
Also known as
ANSI/EIA-748 Guidelines
Used in
EVMS compliance assessment
FAQ
How many EVMS Guidelines are there?
27 under EIA-748-E. The earlier Revision D had 32, and that number still appears throughout current documentation and contract language.
Are the EVMS Guidelines the same as a specific EVM software requirement?
No. They're process and system requirements, not a requirement for any particular software. A company can meet them with a range of tools, as long as its processes comply, people are properly trained, and they actually follow the process as documented.
Definition maintained by forProject Technology.
© 2026 forProject Technology, Inc.
© 2026 forProject Technology, Inc.
