A Schedule Performance Dataset (SPD) is a collection of 19 JSON files that transforms a schedule's data into a flat (plaintext) file format. This means that whether a schedule is created using Microsoft Project, Oracle's Primavera P6, or Deltek's Open Plan Professional, an SPD can be generated to convert the schedule data into a standardized format for data exchange. An SPD enables your project schedule to be read and interpreted by any software capable of decoding it. There is also a related dataset called the Contract Performance Dataset (CPD), which is not produced by SSI Tools.

 

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) created the specifications for the Schedule Performance Dataset when they began the roll out of the Integrated Program Management Data and Analysis Report (IPMDAR) in March 2020. A Schedule Performance Dataset is one of the three components of the IPMDAR submitted each reporting cycle. The IPMDAR is the

next generation of the Integrated Program Management Report (IPMR), which was originally released in 2012. If you work with the US DoD and your project started after March 12, 2020 and has an Earned Value (EV) reporting requirement, you may be required to provide Schedule Performance Datasets in accordance with the IPMDAR.  Additionally, with a bilateral agreement between the contractor and the US Government Program Office, the IMPDAR may be applied to projects that started before March 2020.

 

According to the IPMDAR Data Item Description (DID): "The SPD is a collection of JSON encoded data tables capturing the detailed task and schedule metrics, task relationships, and resource assignments tables. Since the CPD data report is now required at the CA or WP levels, the task definitions within the SPD must now be correctly encoded against the CA or WP data included in the corresponding CPD submission. This critical improvement enhances the ability to support integrated cost/schedule analysis."