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Schedule Variance

Schedule Variance (SV)

EVM Terms Reviewed by forProject Technology - updated Sep 2026
Quick definition: Schedule Variance (SV) is the difference between Earned Value, or Budgeted Cost for Work Performed (BCWP), and Planned Value, or Budgeted Cost for Work Scheduled (BCWS).

SV = BCWP - BCWS. It shows, in budgeted value, whether work is being performed ahead of or behind plan, for the current period or cumulative to date. A negative SV means less work was performed than planned. A positive SV means more work was performed than planned.

What this means for you

SV measures schedule performance in quantitative terms, i.e., in Hours or monetary units. That means being ahead of or behind schedule can be summarized to higher levels and compared directly with the Cost Variance (CV), using the same units of measure. One limit: like the Schedule Performance Index (SPI), SV converges to zero as the work is completed, so a late finish eventually shows no Schedule Variance.

Also known as
N/A
Used in
Variance Analysis Report; Variance Analysis Thresholds

FAQ

What does a negative SV mean?
It means less work has been performed than was planned for this point in the schedule — an unfavorable, behind-schedule condition.
Is SV the same as being late?
Not exactly. SV compares Earned Value with Planned Value in budget terms, so a negative SV means less work has been performed than was planned in a period of time. That isn't the same thing as a date slipping in the schedule.
Definition maintained by forProject Technology.
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