I think back to when I sat for the PMP exam and remember taking the first few minutes to quickly write down the following formulas.  It was my cheat sheet.  There was enough to think about for the next few hours and worrying if I could remember some key formulas was not one of them.  So, here is a bit of advice.  If you’re preparing[1] to take the PMP exam, MEMORIZE these formulas.  The exam won’t come right out and ask you to identify the correct formula for a variance of an activity. Rather, it will offer a question like:  Your current activity was pessimistically estimated at 65 hours and optimistically estimated at 40 hours.  What is the variance of the activity?  (you can use this formula for both time and cost)

You can see how knowing the formula is going to make you or break you on this question.

Do yourself a favor.  Make flash cards, get a tattoo, it doesn’t matter.  Commit these formulas to memory and you’ll save yourself some pain and suffering (and a few points on the exam).

The Formulas

Acronym	Title	Formula
PERT	Program Evaluation and Review Technique	P = Pessimistic Estimate M = Most Likely Estimate O = Optimistic Estimate
	Standard Deviation of Activity
	Variance of an Activity
	Total Float	LS – ES or LF – EF
	Communications Channels	[N(N-1)] / 2
CV	Cost Variance	EV – AC
SV	Schedule Variance	EV – PV
CPI	Cost Performance Index	EV / AC
SPI	Schedule Performance Index	EV / PV
EAC	Estimate at Completion	BAC / CPI AC + ETC AC + (BAC – EV)
ETC	Estimate to Complete	ETC = EAC – AC
VAC	Variance at Completion	BAC – EAC
CPIc	Cumulative Cost Performance Index	Σ EV / Σ AC
TCPI	To-Complete Performance Index

[1] This is a link to a product I created

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