We are pleased to announce that MESLI Consulting is now an official Deltek partner, specialising in integration, support, and training for Deltek Acumen Fuse and Deltek Acumen Risk.
In this article, you will discover why Deltek Acumen is a benchmark for assessing schedule quality, how the DCMA 14-Point Analysis works, how Acumen Risk strengthens risk management, and how its collaborative features enhance team communication and autonomy.
You will also see how MESLI Consulting can support you in deploying and training your teams on the Deltek suite. This guide explains how Deltek Acumen can transform the way you analyse, plan, and manage your projects.
I The Acumen Tool Suite:
A real value-add for DCMA analysis of your projects and schedule optimisation
Acumen Fuse is a preferred tool due to its user-friendly interface for conducting a DCMA analysis. In 2005, the DCMA (Defense Contract Management Agency) introduced a 14-Point Schedule Assessment to help the U.S. Department of Defense evaluate the huge volume of contracts and schedules it was responsible for managing. The DCMA 14-Point Schedule Assessment has since become a widely used standard and has been integrated into many software tools such as Acumen Fuse and Primavera P6.
1. What exactly does the DCMA 14-Point Schedule Assessment check ?
The goal is to determine whether a schedule is well-constructed, realistic, and aligned with best practices, which are essential for project success.
These best practices are broken down into 14 essential checks:
Logic Check: Is the logic complete? Are there missing links?
Negative Lags (Lead Times): Identify non-compliant delays.
Task Relationships: Prefer Finish-to-Start and Finish-to-Finish relationships.
Constraints: Avoid excessive constraints to keep the schedule dynamic.
Total Float: Detect negative float, often a sign of an unstable schedule.
Decomposition of Long Durations: Ensure feasibility.
Invalid Dates: Avoid actual dates in forecasts.
Resources and Costs: Essential for a complete schedule.
Task Delays: Monitor drifting activities.
Critical Path Integrity: Verify flow and coherence.
CPLI (Critical Path Length Index): Measure critical path health.
BEI (Baseline Execution Index): Compare completed tasks to the baseline.
These checks ensure that your schedule complies with DCMA standards and provides a solid foundation for reliable analysis.
Acumen Risk complements these analyses by enabling risk and uncertainty management through Monte Carlo simulations, compatible with MS Project, Primavera P6, and other tools. The suite is available both locally and online, allowing multiple scenarios to be generated to anticipate schedule deviations and prioritise mitigation actions.
2. Customized reporting with Deltek Acumen Fuse
This project management solution allows the realization of personalized reports on the portfolio of your projects, the optimization of your deadlines in the case of an acceleration of your tasks with the multiplication of the teams, the management of the gaps between the progress schedules in different situations, The tool is compatible with the tools for the import and export of the data as well as the installation of an architecture and processes for the validation of the assets.
3. Deltek Acumen: a user-friendly tool
For any trial attempt, MESLI Consulting can provide you with an environment for a limited period of time or present you with a product demonstration at your convenience. The return on investment is very quickly established given the multitude of functionalities and the relevance of the analyses for decision making.
4. A more collaborative version of Deltek Acumen Risk and therefore more effective for risk reduction
The result is improved project management information and communication, which has a significant impact on reducing project risk.
Deltek Acumen enables executive-level communication with project managers, project directors, and planners. Notes, the equivalent of virtual “Post-it” notes, can even be integrated into the software package to ensure excellent visibility of the highest priority messages.
5. Powerful collaborative communication
The Deltek Acumen software package, thanks to its rich functionality, allows for transparency of data and procedures at the customer’s site while relying on information shared between departments and project management.
6. Acquire and train with the Deltek Acumen Fuse and Risk Suite
For the acquisition of Deltek licenses, Deltek integration requests, or customized training, please contact us directly for a quote. MESLI Consulting will provide you with a temporary environment for the duration of the training.
Get your session with Deltek Acumen
II A tool that allows to give the “lead” to the project collaborators and involve them more
Deltek Acumen gives teams immediate access to reliable, up-to-date information. Thanks to advanced analyses (logic, risk, simulations, scenarios), your team members can:
Respond quickly to internal or client information requests
Understand planning priorities and critical issues
Anticipate schedule deviations
Propose adjustments based on objective data
Gain autonomy while reducing areas of uncertainty
This transparency and functional richness enable smooth communication, improve team coordination, and strengthen individual accountability.
Deltek Acumen thus fosters a proactive project dynamic, based on concrete data rather than assumptions.
If you want to:
Improve the quality of your schedules
Strengthen your DCMA compliance
Manage risks through advanced simulations
Guide your teams toward greater autonomy and efficiency
MESLI Consulting can help. We support you in:
Integrating Deltek Acumen
Fuse & Risk training
Ensuring lasting adoption by your teams
Implementing tailored processes and reporting
👉 Contact MESLI Consulting for a demo, trial, or personalised quote.
