Project Controls Glossary

How much of the total planned work has actually been finished, expressed as a percentage.

The real money you've spent so far. Every invoice, every timesheet, every PO.

Plain-English guidance from GPT-5.6 Terra on where to focus, why the numbers moved, and what to do next. Not a black box — every insight cites the KPI that triggered it.

The original approved budget for the whole project. What it should cost from start to finish if everything goes to plan.

Are we getting a dollar of work for every dollar we spend? 1.00 means on-budget, under 1.00 means over-budget (you're paying more than you're earning).

Earned Value minus Actual Cost. In dollars, how far ahead or behind you are on budget. Negative = over-budget.

The 'as of' date for the numbers on screen. Everything to the left is actual history. Everything to the right is forecast.

A category of work grouped by skill or system — Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Piping, Instrumentation, etc. Breaking data out by discipline shows exactly which crew is dragging the project.

The current forecast of what the project will actually cost at the finish line — based on how it's really performing.

The value of work you have actually completed, priced at the original budget rate. This is your true progress — not just hours logged.

A common contract model where one firm handles the full lifecycle: designing (Engineering), buying the equipment (Procurement), and building it (Construction). Typical for large industrial and energy projects.

How much more money you still need to spend from today until the project is done.

The industry standard for measuring project health. It compares three things at any point in time: what you Planned, what you Earned, and what you Spent — and uses the gap to predict where you'll land.

A common finance calendar where each quarter is split into three months of 4, 4, and 5 weeks. Every period always ends on a Saturday — making weekly reports line up cleanly with month-end.

How much you'll be over budget when the project finishes if today's performance continues. Calculated as BAC minus EAC.

The value of work that should have been completed by today, according to the baseline schedule.

The chart that shows spend or progress adding up over time. It usually looks like a stretched S — slow start, steep middle, slow finish. Overlaying Planned, Earned, and Spent instantly reveals if you're drifting.

One row of weekly (or monthly) progress data: how many hours were planned, earned, and spent by each discipline for that period.

Are we finishing work as fast as we planned? 1.00 means on-schedule, under 1.00 means behind schedule.

Earned Value minus Planned Value. In dollars, how far ahead or behind you are on schedule. Negative = behind.