The Earned Value Management Implementation Guide (EVMIG) provides guidance to Government DoD acquisition personnel on the proper implementation and surveillance of a contractor’s EVMS where EVM is either formally required or under consideration. Developed many years ago, the previous version (2006) fell out of currency after a decade of changing regulatory requirements and clarifications. There was also a large overlap with content found in other DoD guides. Subsequently, in 2015, the Office of Performance Assessment and Root Cause Analysis (PARCA, now known as Acquisition Analytics and Policy (AAP)) decided to rescind the document. It was not long before AAP realized not all of the EVMIG’s guidance was absorbed in other documentation, so the document was recently refreshed and released on 18 January 2019.

The 2019 Version of the EVMIG now provides excellent guidance consistent with other official documentation. The document’s structure is largely unchanged but navigating to references is significantly easier using embedded links. Part One covers EVM Concepts and remains largely unchanged. Part 2 covers procedures for the government’s use of EVM. The content in Part Two reflects many changes. Roles and responsibilities have changed as the government has reorganized several times. References to ANSI, CPRs, X12, Advanced Agreements, and DCAA are now excluded. Reporting requirements and CDRLs have been updated to reflect the latest DIDs and the requirement for ACAT1 contracts to submit performance data to the central repository. Durations for EVM applicability were increased from 12 months to 18 months. EVMS Validation thresholds were increased from $50M to $100M. Sections were added to address applicability of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) and Full Rate Production (FRP) contracts. References to the Business System Clause (252.242.7005) are now included. Content has been regarding Agile integration. A much-needed section (2.5.2.2.3 Harvesting Underruns) clarifies a common problem with the reutilization of underruns for new scope. Understanding the nuances between budget and funding will help contractors avoid non-compliance issues.

Thankfully, negotiating out any of the 32 EIA 748 Guidelines is not permissible, nor can PMs add any reporting requirements beyond the standard DIDs. Tailoring (Date of first report, report frequency, format, WBS level, and variance reporting) is still permitted and encouraged to right size the EVM requirement to a contract’s complexity and risk.

In summary, the EVMIG provides excellent guidance to both government and contractors. Directions for submitting changes or corrections can be found in the beginning of the document. An alternative is to forward recommendations/changes to John.Duval@smawins.com. Mr. Duval is supporting the collection and consolidation of inputs from industry as part of his role on the NDIA Integrated Program Management Division (IPMD).

You can downloaded the latest release for free at https://www.acq.osd.mil/evm/assets/docs/DOD%20EVMIG-01-18-2019.pdf