EVM 1100 Fundamentals of Earned Value Management
Client Information
The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) is the Department of Defense’s central training institution for acquisition professionals. DAU equips the Defense Acquisition Workforce with the skills and knowledge needed to deliver effective, affordable warfighting capabilities, strengthening national security through agile, mission-ready acquisition support.
Challenge(s)
DAU identified a need to revitalize EVM fundamentals training for early-career acquisition professionals. Despite EVM’s critical role in monitoring cost, schedule, and performance, learners often found the subject complex, dry, and disconnected from real-world relevance. The challenge was to transform foundational content into an engaging, memorable, and motivational learning experience that encouraged learner buy-in and long-term retention.
Solution(s)
CTEC designed EVM 1100 as a narrative-driven, gamified learning experience that
fuses high-fidelity storytelling with a fantasy metaphor. Learners follow Mark, a new
EVM analyst in the Sky Fortress Missile Program, as he’s unexpectedly drawn into the
mythic world of Eveum—a parallel realm threatened by “the Cynic,” a personification of
EVM skepticism and failure. Guided by a wizard mentor, learners journey through
Eveum’s Citadel, learning core EVM concepts like Schedule Variance, SPI, CPI, and
Estimate at Completion (EAC) through interactive quests, dramatic live-action video,
scenario-based assessments, and immersive simulations. The course scaffolds learning
with humor, metaphor, and richly visual environments, equipping learners with job-ready
EVM skills while championing the value of proactive program management.
Highlights
- Custom HTML5 build
- Fantasy storytelling metaphor (Realm of Eveum)
- Gamified journey with narrative progression
- Live-action video, 2D animation, and motion graphics with voiceover
- Interactive assessments and scenario-based challenges
Need to create a learning experience?
