1
CAM per CA
3–8
CAs per CAM
S+S+B
Scope+Schedule+Budget
Weekly
Status Cadence

What the CAM Owns

The CAM is the person who can answer three questions about their control account at any time: (1) What work is planned and what has been accomplished? (2) Is the work on schedule? (3) Are we spending what we planned to spend for the work we have done?

DimensionCAM ResponsibilityHow It’s Measured
ScopeDefine work packages with clear deliverables. Ensure all scope in the CA is planned and authorized.WBS dictionary, work package descriptions, SOW traceability
ScheduleSequence work packages logically. Link to the IMS. Track start/finish dates.Schedule performance index (SPI), milestone completion
BudgetTime-phase budget across work packages. Monitor actual vs earned. Develop ETC/EAC.Cost performance index (CPI), EAC, variance analysis

CAM Authority Boundaries

✅ CAM CAN

  • Plan and replan work within the control account
  • Allocate budget across work packages (within the CA total)
  • Assign and reassign resources to tasks
  • Approve time charges to their control account
  • Develop and defend the Estimate to Complete
  • Open and close work packages
  • Request management reserve for emergent scope

❌ CAM CANNOT

  • Change the Performance Measurement Baseline without PM approval
  • Move budget between control accounts
  • Authorize scope changes (must go through change control)
  • Access management reserve without PM authorization
  • Change the WBS structure
  • Approve overtime beyond delegated authority

The CAM’s Relationships

StakeholderRelationshipInteraction
Program ManagerThe CAM reports performance to the PM. The PM provides direction and resolves cross-CA issues.Weekly status, monthly EAC review, variance explanations
IPT LeadOften the CAM IS the IPT lead. If not, they work closely to align technical execution with budget/schedule.Daily coordination on work priorities and resource allocation
SchedulerThe scheduler maintains the IMS. The CAM provides status on work package start/finish and logic updates.Weekly schedule updates, logic tie validation
Cost AnalystThe cost analyst processes actuals and generates EV reports. The CAM validates the data and provides context.Monthly close, data reconciliation, EAC input
Government CustomerThe CAM may present during IBRs and program reviews, explaining performance within their control account.As needed during reviews, IBRs, and audits

The CAM Monthly Rhythm

Weekly: Status and Earned Value

Update work package status (% complete or milestone achievement). Review actual hours charged. Flag emerging issues. This takes 30–60 minutes per week per CA.

Monthly: Close, Analyze, Report

Validate actual costs. Confirm earned value claims. Calculate CPI/SPI. Write variance narratives for any CA exceeding thresholds. Update EAC. Submit data for CPR/IPMR. This takes 2–4 hours per CA per month.

Quarterly: EAC Deep Dive

Comprehensive bottom-up ETC review. Validate all remaining work packages. Reconcile with statistical EAC (BAC/CPI). Present to PM and customer at quarterly review.

💡 The CAM Test

A good CAM can answer these questions without opening a computer: (1) What is your CPI and SPI? (2) What are your top 3 cost drivers? (3) What is your EAC and how did you derive it? (4) What corrective actions are in place for negative variances? If a CAM cannot answer these from memory, they are not managing their control account — they are processing paperwork.

🎯 The Bottom Line

The CAM is where EVMS meets reality. They own scope, schedule, and budget at the working level. Their authority lets them manage within their control account; their accountability requires them to explain performance to the PM and customer. The weekly/monthly/quarterly rhythm keeps them connected to the work. Next: Work Package Planning — how to plan the work within a control account so it can be meaningfully budgeted, scheduled, and measured.

Keep Learning
📖
Guide
Work Package Planning
📖
Guide
Budget Baseline Management
📖
Guide
EVMS Fundamentals
🎓 Part of the Control Account Management track — view all 8 guides →
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Take this to a room

The running order

For new CAMs and the managers who appoint them. They should leave able to pass the four-question CAM test on their own control account.

7 beats · 12 min
  1. 1

    One person, three things

    A control account manager owns scope, schedule and budget for a defined piece of the programme. One person, not a committee.

    • One CAM per control account. Typically three to eight accounts per CAM.
    • It is where EVMS stops being a system and becomes someone's job.
    • If two people share it, nobody owns it.

    Ask the room Do all our control accounts have exactly one named manager?

  2. 2

    The CAM test

    Four questions, answerable without opening a computer. This is the standard.

    • What is your CPI and SPI?
    • What are your top three cost drivers?
    • What is your EAC and how did you derive it?
    • What corrective actions are in place for negative variances?

    Ask the room Could each of us answer those four right now?

  3. 3

    Processing paperwork is not managing

    A CAM who has to look it up is administering a control account, not running one.

    • The numbers should be familiar because you watched them happen.
    • Looking up your own CPI in a review costs credibility you do not recover in that meeting.
    • This is the difference the role exists to make.
  4. 4

    Authority has boundaries

    Know exactly what you may change and what needs approval, before you need to know.

    • Inside the account: replan work packages, move resources, adjust sequences.
    • Outside: anything that changes the control account's total budget or its scope.
    • Crossing that line without a change request is a compliance finding, not a judgement call.
  5. 5

    The relationships

    The CAM sits between the programme manager, the IPT and the functional organisation, and each wants something different.

    • The PM wants forecast and corrective action.
    • The IPT wants technical progress.
    • Functional management owns the people you are spending.
    • The CAM is where those three are reconciled.
  6. 6

    The rhythm

    Weekly, monthly, quarterly - and the weekly one is what makes the monthly one survivable.

    • Weekly: status and earned value, 30 to 60 minutes per account.
    • Monthly: close, analyse, narratives, EAC, report. Two to four hours per account.
    • Quarterly: bottom-up ETC review, reconciled against the statistical EAC.
  7. 7

    What good looks like

    The best CAMs are not the ones who work hardest at month end.

    • They maintain awareness all month, so close is confirmation not discovery.
    • They bring a recommendation to every problem they raise.
    • They can tell the story: what happened, why, impact, action, when it shows in the data.

    Ask the room Which part of the rhythm are we currently skipping?

Continue the CAM Track

📋 Work Package Planning
Planning, budgeting, and scheduling within the CA
📈 Budget Baseline
PMB, management reserve, and baseline maintenance
📊 EVMS Fundamentals
The system framework CAMs operate within