This guide covers everything you need to know about work performance information in PMBOK 8. Work performance information is the analyzed, integrated work performance data that has been compared against the project baselines and transformed into meaningful insights — it is the bridge between raw execution measurements and the performance reports shared with stakeholders.
What Is Work Performance Information?
Work performance information is the result of analyzing and correlating work performance data against the project management plan. It represents the contextualized understanding of how the project is performing — not just raw measurements, but those measurements compared to planned values, with calculated variances, forecasts, and trend assessments.
Examples include: cost variance (CV = EV – AC), schedule variance (SV = EV – PV), cost performance index (CPI = EV/AC), schedule performance index (SPI = EV/PV), estimate at completion (EAC), risk status updates, issue resolution status, and quality trend analysis. These are not raw data — they are computed, contextual assessments derived from the data.
The relationship between data, information, and reports is sequential: work performance data is collected during execution, analyzed to produce work performance information, and then formatted and communicated in work performance reports. Each transformation adds value: data answers “what happened?”; information answers “what does it mean?”; reports answer “what should stakeholders know and do?”
Work Performance Information in PMBOK 8 — Domain and Process
In the PMBOK Guide 8th Edition, work performance information belongs to the Governance Performance Domain and is produced during the Monitor and Control Project Performance process. It is the output of analyzing work performance data against the project baselines and is the direct input to work performance reports.
Work performance information also feeds into change requests (when variances indicate a need for corrective action), risk monitoring (when performance trends indicate new risks), and the lessons learned register (when performance patterns provide insights for future projects).
Key Elements of Work Performance Information
Well-structured work performance information typically includes:
- Earned Value Metrics — CPI, SPI, CV, SV, EAC, ETC, VAC calculated from current actuals
- Deliverable Status — completion status of work packages and deliverables vs. planned
- Schedule Analysis — activities behind schedule, float consumption, critical path status
- Cost Analysis — cost variances by work package, reserve consumption rate
- Quality Analysis — defect rates, test results vs. acceptance thresholds
- Risk and Issue Status — open risks and issues with their response effectiveness assessment
Work Performance Information Example — Project Phoenix
Alex Morgan’s biweekly work performance information summary at the end of week 14 included: CPI = 1.04, SPI = 1.03, CV = +$2,200, SV = +$1,600 (both favorable). EAC = $63,831 (projected $2,554 under the cost baseline). Schedule: 87% of activities complete, no critical path activities behind schedule. Quality: 93.6% first-pass test success rate, 1 critical defect resolved, trend improving. Risk: 2 new risks identified, both rated Medium, response plans in place. Issues: ISS-004 fully resolved, ISS-010 open and on track for resolution before launch.
This information was the input to the biweekly status report distributed to Riley Park and Sarah Chen. Because the information was clearly structured with variances, forecasts, and trend assessments, the status report could be written in 30 minutes rather than two hours — the analytical work was done during information generation. Riley Park later cited the quality of the project’s work performance information as the reason she had “complete financial and schedule confidence” throughout the project’s lifecycle.
You can download the complete filled-in example below — it shows exactly how work performance information was generated and used in a real project.
Download Free Work Performance Information Template and Example
We have prepared two free resources to help you generate work performance information on your own projects:
- Download the Work Performance Information Template — PMBOK 8 (blank, ready to fill in)
- Download the Work Performance Information Example — Project Phoenix (filled in for a real $72K website launch)
Both are free downloads — no registration required.
Work Performance Information — Best Practices and Common Mistakes
Generate work performance information at the same frequency as your data collection — weekly collection with monthly analysis produces a lag in identifying performance problems. Include both favorable and unfavorable variances in the information summary — selectively reporting only positive results produces a distorted performance picture. Use trend data (three or more periods) rather than single-period snapshots to distinguish genuine performance changes from one-off fluctuations.
The work performance information process is most effective when it is automated to the extent possible — tracking spreadsheets with built-in EVM formulas that update automatically when actuals are entered reduce the analytical effort and increase update frequency. Teams that skip or rush this analysis often produce reports that look busy but do not actually inform decision-making.
Want to master project management with PMBOK 8? The PMBOK Guide 8th Edition is the definitive reference. Get your copy and use it alongside these free resources.
Project Management