What is the status of the project whose data is shown in the following S-curve?

Question

Options

• AUnder budget and ahead of schedule
• BOver budget and behind schedule
• COver budget and ahead of schedule
• DUnder budget and behind schedule

• A
  7% (1)
• B
  71% (10)
• C
  14% (2)
• D
  7% (1)

Explanation

Option B is correct because on the S-curve shown, the Actual Cost (AC) line sits above the Earned Value (EV) line - meaning more was spent than the value of work completed (Cost Performance Index < 1, over budget) - and the EV line sits below the Planned Value (PV) line - meaning less work was completed than planned at this point in time (Schedule Performance Index < 1, behind schedule).

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (under budget, ahead of schedule) is the exact opposite: it would require AC below EV and EV above PV.
• C (over budget, ahead of schedule) gets the budget status right but reverses the schedule - ahead of schedule requires EV > PV, which the curve doesn't show.
• D (under budget, behind schedule) gets the schedule status right but reverses the budget - under budget requires AC < EV, which the curve doesn't show.

Memory tip: Use the "EV sandwich" rule - EV is always the middle reference line. Compare AC to EV for budget (AC above EV = over budget), and compare EV to PV for schedule (EV below PV = behind schedule). If both are unfavorable, you're in the worst quadrant: over budget and behind schedule.

No community discussion yet for this question.