Estimate to Complete (ETC)

The forecasted amount of money needed to complete all unfinished work on the project.

Key Points

  • ETC represents only the future cost from today to project completion, not what has already been spent.
  • It links to total forecast: EAC = AC + ETC, so ETC = EAC - AC.
  • You can compute ETC by a bottom-up reestimate of remaining work or by deriving it from an EAC formula based on performance assumptions.
  • Official PMI wording: "The expected cost to finish all the remaining project work."

Example

A project has BAC = $500,000, EV = $250,000, and AC = $300,000. Assuming future cost performance will mirror past performance (use CPI), first find EAC: EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) / CPI. With CPI = EV / AC = 250,000 / 300,000 = 0.833, EAC ≈ 300,000 + 250,000 / 0.833 ≈ 300,000 + 300,000 = $600,000. Therefore, ETC = EAC - AC = 600,000 - 300,000 = $300,000.

PMP Example Question

A project reports AC = $1.2M, EV = $1.0M, and BAC = $2.0M. The PM expects future work to continue at the current CPI. What is the Estimate to Complete (ETC)?

  1. $0.8M
  2. $1.0M
  3. $1.2M
  4. $2.0M

Correct Answer: C — $1.2M

Explanation: CPI = EV/AC = 1.0/1.2 = 0.833. EAC = AC + (BAC - EV)/CPI = 1.2 + (1.0)/0.833 ≈ 2.4 (in millions). ETC = EAC - AC = 2.4 - 1.2 = 1.2M.

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