Glossary
Baseline Execution Index (BEI)
A schedule health metric that compares the number of activities completed to the number that should have been completed by the data date, per the baseline.
The Baseline Execution Index (BEI) is one of the DCMA 14-point assessment metrics and measures execution performance in terms of activity completion count. It is calculated as the number of activities actually completed divided by the number of activities the baseline planned to have completed by the data date. A BEI of 1.0 means exactly as many activities have been finished as the baseline expected. A BEI below 1.0 — which is the common case on delayed projects — means the team is completing fewer activities per unit of time than the plan assumed. The DCMA threshold for concern is typically a BEI below 0.95.
BEI has the advantage of simplicity: it does not require resource loading or cost data, just a baseline with planned completion dates and a record of which activities are actually complete. This makes it one of the quickest health indicators to produce and one of the easiest to explain to non-specialists. It is also less susceptible to gaming than EVM-based metrics because it counts discrete completions rather than percentage estimates. Either an activity is done or it is not.
The limitation of BEI is that it treats all activities equally regardless of their size, cost, or criticality. Completing 100 small low-value activities while a handful of large critical-path activities slip will produce a BEI that looks acceptable but a programme that is in serious trouble. BEI should therefore always be used alongside criticality information: what is the BEI for activities on or near the critical path, and what is it for non-critical activities? A low BEI driven entirely by non-critical activities may be manageable. A low BEI concentrated on critical-path activities requires urgent attention. Never use BEI as a standalone metric without that disaggregation.
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Frequently asked
- How is the Baseline Execution Index calculated?
- BEI = Number of activities actually completed by the data date ÷ Number of activities the baseline planned to have completed by the data date. A BEI of 1.0 means execution is matching the baseline plan exactly. A BEI below 1.0 means the team is completing fewer activities than the plan assumed; a BEI above 1.0 means the team is ahead of plan in terms of activity count. The DCMA 14-point assessment threshold for concern is typically a BEI below 0.95.
- What does a BEI of 0.85 mean in practice?
- A BEI of 0.85 means the project has completed only 85% of the activities the baseline planned to be done by the current data date. On a 200-activity baseline plan, that translates to roughly 30 activities behind schedule. Under the DCMA 14-point thresholds, a BEI below 0.95 triggers concern; 0.85 indicates material schedule slippage and should prompt review of which activities are missing, whether they are critical-path or non-critical, and what recovery action is needed. BEI must always be read alongside critical-path criticality — 30 non-critical activities behind is a different problem from 30 critical-path activities behind.
- What is the difference between BEI and SPI?
- BEI (Baseline Execution Index) measures execution by count of activities — how many were finished versus how many were planned. SPI (Schedule Performance Index) measures execution by Earned Value — the budgeted cost of work performed versus the budgeted cost of work scheduled. BEI is simpler to calculate (you only need a baseline and a record of completions) but treats all activities equally regardless of size or criticality. SPI is more sophisticated but requires a resource-loaded or cost-loaded baseline. The DCMA 14-point assessment tracks BEI alongside CPLI (Critical Path Length Index) for a multi-dimensional view of schedule health; many programmes also track SPI in parallel where EVM is in place.
Related terms
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