This chart displays planned and actual progress and cost at a glance.
The horizontal axis depicts the passage of time. The lines on the chart convey various measures of progress and cost:
Comparing the red and blue lines will tell you whether you are ahead or behind schedule. This may seem obvious, because these two lines display the exact same data as the Plan and Actual lines on the Cumulative Earned Value chart (just with a different vertical scale).
Comparing the blue and green lines will tell you whether tasks are taking more or less time than expected. If the green line is above the blue line, tasks are taking more time than planned. If the green line is below the blue line, tasks are taking less time than planned.
You can compare the red line to the green line to get a rough idea of whether you are devoting as much time to the project as planned. However, this comparison will only be an approximation, because the lines on this chart do not include data from incomplete tasks. To accurately compare planned and actual time spent, view the Cumulative Direct Time chart.
This chart may be very familiar to individuals that have experience with traditional earned value management systems. The red "Plan Value" line corresponds to BCWS (Budgeted Cost for Work Scheduled). The blue "Actual Value" line corresponds to BCWP (Budgeted Cost for Work Performed). And the green "Actual Cost" line corresponds to ACWP (Actual Cost for Work Performed).