Top 10 Project Management KPIs in Project Management Tracking

Top 8 project management KPIs

There are integral KPIs that you should monitor, regardless of the type of industry or project management methodology you follow. Here’s a list of the most common yet vital project management KPIs you should consider.

1. Resource utilization

Resource utilization is a key performance indicator that helps measure efficiency by calculating the ratio of time spent on a task to the total available time. For example, automating time-consuming manual tasks generally lowers resource utilization rates.

2. Project ROI (return on investment)

Paying attention to your project’s ROI is essential for making informed decisions. It represents the rate of net profit over the total investment cost. By analyzing ROI, organizations can prioritize projects with the highest potential for financial return.

3. Budget variance

Budget variance measures the difference between the estimated expenses and actual figures. This KPI keeps financial goals in check and helps stakeholders make more strategic plans by analyzing monetary trends. A positive result indicates spending below budget, zero means spending is on target, and a negative result indicates overspending.

4. On-time completion rate

The on-time completion percentage represents the ratio of tasks completed within their scheduled time frames to the total number of completed tasks. A high on-time completion percentage means that your team is efficient and reliable. However, a low rate means that you have project planning and execution issues. It may also be a sign of stress and burnout within employees.

5. Planned value (PV)

Planned value measures the estimated cost of project activities planned to date. Generally, a high planned value (PV) can be a positive indicator in project management. However, its interpretation depends on the context of other project metrics like earned value (EV) and actual cost (AC).

6. Earned value (EV)

Earned value (EV) represents the worth of work done to date. To compute earned value, you must multiply the percentage of completed work by the original budget allocated to the project.

7. Cost performance index (CPI)

Cost performance index, or CPI, defines the ratio of completed work to the amount of money it took to get it done. It’s an ideal way to decide whether you’re using your financial resources strategically.

To compute, divide the earned value (EV) by the actual cost (AC) or the real money spent on the task. A CPI greater than one indicates a project is under budget, equal to 1 signifies on budget, and less than one means over budget.

8. Schedule performance index (SPI)

Schedule performance index (SPI) measures time management efficiency and represents the earned versus planned value ratio. Comparable to CPI, an SPI greater than 1 indicates the project is ahead of schedule, while an SPI less than 1 suggests the project is behind schedule. 

This KPI provides a straightforward way to gauge how closely the project’s actual progress matches its planned progress.

Project management KPI FAQs

About the author

Irene Casucian is a Project Management Staff Writer for TechnologyAdvice. Irene spends her days researching and covering project management software, topics and trends within the industry.