ETC Definition

In many of the grids in Project Analyzer you will see the value ETC. ETC means estimate to complete. ETC refers to the "what's remaining" value needed to complete the work. Completed work is not included in the ETC.

There are three basic ETC values that appear throughout Project Analyzer:

Schedule ETC

This value represents the budgeted labor remaining to complete the phase based on the number of days for the phase duration. On the Labor Budget tab, it appears in the Schedule ETC column and is represented by the Labor wedge in the Budget Detail chart.

Calculating Schedule ETC

To calculate Schedule ETC, Project Analyzer assumes that an equal percent of the planned labor is completed for each day of the phase duration. For example, if a phase is 100 days long and the current day is day 50, Schedule ETC is calculated assuming that 50% of the work for the phase is complete.

If the Schedule ETC exceeds the available staffing, the amount of Schedule ETC that exceeds the available budget is represented in the Budget Detail chart as Labor Over Budget. The total of the Labor and Labor Over Budget pieces of the pie chart equal the ScheduleETC Staffing column total.

Additional notes

Schedule ETC does not take any detailed work plan data into account. It simply assumes that an equal amount of work is performed for each day of the phase duration. Because of this, Schedule ETC is best used to gain a "ballpark" feel for the remaining budgeted labor.

Schedule ETC may make more sense as a reference value for short-term projects where detailed work planning is not required.

The Schedule Complete value that appears on the Labor Budget tab represents the percent complete for all assignments in a phase from the Schedule tab and is used to calculate Schedule ETC. It does not show any work that may have been done for a phase assignment before the official start date of the phase is past.

Budget Detail charts that include the Schedule ETC Labor value appear on the following tabs: Labor Budget, Contract / Fees, Non-Reimb Consultants, and Non-Reimb Expenses.

Team ETC

This value represents the amount of planned labor dollars remaining for the phase. On the Team tab, it appears in the ETC Staffing column and is represented by the Staffing wedge in the Budget Detail chart.

Calculating Team ETC

Team ETC is calculated in one of two ways:

When detailed staffing is assigned, TeamETC is calculated using the detailed work plan data, instead of assuming an even distribution of hours over the weeks of the assignment. For example, if an assignment spans five weeks but has 90% of its hours in the last two weeks and you are viewing the Team ETC in week 2, the TeamETC is 90% of the total cost. The sum of the ETC Staffing column is represented in the Budget Detailchart as Staffing.

If the Team ETC exceeds the available staffing, the amount of Team ETC that exceeds the available budget is represented in the Budget Detail chart as Staffing Over Staffed. The total of the Staffing and Staffing Over Staffed pieces of the pie chart equal the ETC Staffing column total.

When detailed staffing has not been assigned, Team ETC is calculated assuming that an equal percent of the planned labor is completed for each day of the assignment duration. For example, if an assignment is 100 days long and the current day is day 50, Team ETC is calculated assuming that 50% of the work for the assignment is complete.

Team ETC for a phase is equal to:

Full budgeted amount for future assignments
+ $0 for past assignments
+ the remaining % of hours for active assignment A*its full budgeted amount
+ the remaining % of hours for active assignment B*its full budgeted amount
+ the remaining % of hours for active assignment C*its full budgeted amount

For example:

It is week 5 of a 10 week phase. The following table explains how the Team ETC is calculated:

Assignment	Team ETC Value
Past assignment - completed in week 3	$0
Assignment that begins in week 8 with a budget of $15,000	$15,000
Assignment A - week 4 to week 8 with a budget of $80,000. Currently 30% complete, meaning 70% of hours remain. The value Assignment A adds to Team ETC is 70% of $80,000 = $56,000	$56,000
Assignment B - week 2 to week 6 with a budget of $60,000. Currently 75% complete, meaning 25% of hours remain. The value Assignment B adds to Team ETC is 25% of $60,000 = $15,000	$15,000
Assignment C - week 3 to week 7 with a budget of $40,000. Currently 80% complete, meaning 20% of hours remain. The value Assignment C adds to Team ETC is 20% of $40,000 = $8,000	$8,000
Team ETC	$94,000

Additional notes

Because Team ETC takes detailed work planning into account, it more accurately represents the actual amount of planned labor dollars remaining. This may mean that the Team ETC value and the Schedule ETC value are not identical. Please see the Schedule ETC vs. Team ETC Comparison below for an example.

Team ETC makes more sense as a reference value for longer-term projects where detailed work planning has been implemented.

The Team Complete value that appears on the Labor Budget tab represents the percent complete of the assignments from the Team tab for all assignments in the phase and is used to calculate the Team ETC. Because it takes detailed work planning into account, it can show work that has been done for an assignment even if the phase has not officially started.

Tasks ETC

This value represents the amount of planned labor dollars remaining for the task. It only appears on the Tasks tab in the ETC Effort column and is represented by the Effort wedge in the Budget Detail chart.

Calculating Tasks ETC

The Tasks ETC is calculated using the Total Cost for the task and the percent Complete value as entered on the Tasks tab. The percent complete is manually entered by the project manager.

Additional notes

The Tasks ETC is rolled into the Schedule ETC value that appears on the Labor Budget tab.

The Tasks ETC has no effect on the Team ETC value.

Schedule ETC vs. Team ETC comparison

The following example shows how the Schedule ETC values and Team ETC values can differ from each other:

The project is currently in the Pre-Contract phase, which has a duration of 3 weeks (x days). The phase begins on 2/22/2010 and ends on 3/14/2010.

Detailed work planning has been used to assign Nina Beach to 90 hours of work for the phase - 40 hours in week 1, 40 hours in week 2, and 10 hours in week 3. This is the only assignment for the phase.

The current date is early in week 3 of the project (3/10/2010).

The total budget for the phase is $17,550.

When the project manager views the Labor Budget tab for the project, the Team ETC and Team Complete and Schedule ETC and Schedule Complete values for the Pre-Contract phase appear as follows:

Obviously, the Complete values and the ETC values do not match. This is because different calculations have been used to arrive at each.

Here are the calculations used to derive the values:

Schedule Complete

3 week phase duration = 15 days

last completed day = 12

Schedule Complete = current day / phase duration in days = 12/15 = .8, or 80%

Team Complete

3 week phase duration = 15 days

last completed day = 12

Week 1 = 40 hours

Week 2 = 40 hours

Week 3 = 4 hours (based on 10 hours split over 5 days)

Team Complete = total hours to date / total assignment hours = 84/90 = .93, or 93%

Schedule ETC

Total phase budget = $17,550

Schedule Complete = 80%

Schedule ETC = total phase budget * inverse of Schedule Complete = $17,550*.2 = $3,510

Team ETC

Total phase budget = $17,550

% complete for assignment = 93% (rounded; decimal value is .93333)

Team ETC = remaining % of hours for the assignment*its full budgeted amount = .06667*$17,550 = $1,170.05 = $1,170 (displayed)