It can be harder to plan and make ends meet these days with the economic crisis and the extraordinary government responses to it. The value of our hard-earned money seems intent on nosediving; as a result, today’s penny is gaining more importance. Saving pennies has never been more prudent.

What the construction business is doing to cope can be a lesson for all of us.  The construction industry depends heavily on long-term planning and the careful use of expensive building materials. This makes them especially vulnerable to uncertain money supply and devaluation. Construction project managers must go “back to the drawing board” every day to rethink their plans and estimates, measure work progress more objectively, and try to spot small problems before they can become big and expensive.

These experts and their clients have plenty of incentive to watch their spending. That’s why a number of them use the Earned Value Management technique for projects. It enables them to give every task a specific value before the work begins, then objectively track their successes and slippages.

Earned Value Management (EVM) was developed years ago for large projects, and has been used by government agencies and large companies. But its common-sense approach may also help every penny-pincher gain new control over their budget and expenses. Here’s how the technique would be used on very simple projects:

* Define the work as a simple list of tasks
* Assign a “point value” to each task (not necessarily a dollar amount)
* Define “earning rules” that tell you when the task has been successful completed

Only after doing the first three do you:

* Execute the project according to your plan, while carefully measuring its progress

EVM has been proven to save time and money; just add careful planning, reliable data and detailed record keeping. That’s right, it means you have to get more organized. But its potential savings should motivate even the organizationally challenged to start prioritizing tasks, using time management strategies, and investing in time management training.

As you approach the New Year, consider rethinking your present strategies.  The upfront investment of time and a small expense will pay big dividends in a very short time.