ated with the project, $23.6 million was set aside.

Earned value milestones had scheduled dates and associated budgets. As the program progressed, project managers reviewed the milestones monthly, comparing them to their planned dates and the actual costs of achieving them.

“If you hold the schedule, you will invariably hold the cost,” says Doug Gowans, manager of program planning and control, MD Robotics. “Having an integrated schedule that pulls together all the elements of the program – deliverables and milestones – was absolutely key.”

The overall plan tied customer payment to milestones, as firm, fixed-price contracts require. “I don’t think we had a choice,” Gowans says. “That’s the only way the customer is assured that, when the dollars are paid, progress is made. But you must pick increments that are achievable.”

The setup provides management challenges, especially when managing the critical path proactively, Abramovici says. “On one hand, payment milestones are good because they allow a continuous focus on those deliverables and permit the customer to see progress being made,” Abramovici says. “But if there are too many milestones too closely spaced, it takes away flexibility as the program progresses. You can’t use a rolling-wave approach because the milestones are locked down based on payment.”

The original (baseline) cost and schedule was amended through the life of the project by incorporating customer-mandated and approved changes of scope proposals, which consequently modified the project cost and acceptance review date.

Progress Report

Engineering work paralleled the SPDM product design effort. The engineering team and management scrutinized any changes requested by the customer to ensure the existing des

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