The S
Curve is a well known project management tool and it consists in
"a display of cumulative costs, labour hours or other quantities plotted
against time". The name derives from the S-like shape of the curve,
flatter at the beginning and end and steeper in the middle, because this is the
way most of the projects look like.
The S
curve can be considered as an indicator and it's used for many applications
related to project management such as: target, baseline, cost, time etc. That's
why there is a variety of S Curves such as:
There are
various S Curves.
1. Cost versus Time
S Curve - appropriate for projects that contain labor and non-labor
tasks.
2. Target S Curve -
This S Curve reflects the ideal progress of the project if all tasks are
completed as currently scheduled.
3. Value and
Percentage S Curves - Percentage S Curves are useful for calculating
the project's actual percentage complete.
4. Actual S Curve -
This S Curve reflects the actual progress of the project to date.
In order to be able to
generate a S Curve, A Baseline and Production Schedule are necessary because
they contain important information for each task: -the Baseline - contains
information about Actual Start date and finish date.
- The Baseline - can
also contain information about Man Hours and costs.
- The Production
Schedule contains information about the actual percentage complete.
