You are managing a manufacturing project to deliver 500 custom components over 10 months. After 4 months, you have delivered 180 components. The project budget is $500,000, and you have spent $195,000 so far. According to the baseline schedule, you should have delivered 200 components by now. Senior management wants to know if the project will meet its deadline. What is the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and what does it indicate about schedule performance?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A. The SPI is calculated as EV/PV. The EV is (180/500) × $500,000 = $180,000. The PV is (200/500) × $500,000 = $200,000. Therefore, SPI = 180,000/200,000 = 0.90. An SPI less than 1.0 indicates the project is behind schedule, earning only 90 cents of value for every dollar of work that should have been completed. This represents a 10% schedule variance that requires corrective action to get back on track. Option B incorrectly reverses the calculation (PV/EV), which would show the opposite condition. The scenario clearly states fewer components were delivered than planned (180 vs 200), so any answer showing ahead of schedule (B or D) contradicts the facts. Option C miscalculates the index and understates the significance of a 10% schedule variance.

PMP Practice Question: Process — Predictive, Medium

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