Using the Automated VY Chart

Projecting and Reporting Volunteer Actions

for Budget Formulation and Monitoring.

Introduction to the Automated V-Year Chart

Questions about this tool may be directed to
Phil Covell
Office of Budget and Analysis
+1 (202) 692 1629
pcovell@peacecorps.gov

Purposes

To track and project volunteer actions in a way that facilitates reporting to the
budget office.
To improve the accuracy and reliability of VY chart submissions.
To enable reconciliation of the VY chart with other tools used by Peace Corps
to track volunteer actions.

PCVDBMS is the official Peace Corps repository of data related to Volunteers and
Volunteer actions such as

Arrival at post
Swearing in
Early Termination (ET)
Closure of service (COS)
Transfers in and out

Entries to PCVDBMS are triggered by cables sent by posts and copied to the country
desk officer / unit.
VIDA is an Access database that automatically interacts with PCVDBMS to give posts
access to PCVDBMS data. Note that HQ staff does not have access to VIDA.

Benefits

12 Feb 2007

Generate VY charts automatically from your volunteer roster and future

input assumptions.
Tie names to every number for historical data.
Make projections effortlessly.
Avoid errors that could impact your budget.

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

Reconciliation with other Peace Corps tools

Currently, the system for tracking Volunteer activity is
separate from the system for reporting V-Years. They
are difficult to reconcile.
Cables

Cables
Desks
Roster

PTO

Calendars

PCVDBMS

VY Chart

?
Posts
roster

VIDA

VIDA

With the automated VY tool, these systems can be

reconciled and possibly integrated, allowing posts and desks
to collaborate in the validation of historical VY data.

Cables

(Historical data)

Desks
Auto. VY chart

PCVDBMS

VIDA

Posts
Auto. VY chart
(Historical and projected data)

12 Feb 2007

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

Instructions Ts & Vs tab

1a) For all volunteers on board at the
beginning of the fiscal year, enter
the name and input group in on the
"Vs" tab. Sector info is optional.
Note that you can cut and paste
entire columns from other files that
you may be using as volunteer
rosters (see note on P. 13 to use
VIDA for this purpose). Use
Edit/Paste-Special/Values.
COS dates are calculated
automatically from the arrival and
COS dates of TI groups (which you
will enter on the "input" tab in step
3). Any dates entered for
individuals in column F of the Vs
tab will override the COS date for
that person's group entered on the
Inputs tab.
1b)

For volunteers that ET or Transfer

out after the beginning of the year,
record the date of that action on this
tab, too. For volunteers that extend,
please record the number of
extension months and the date that
extension home leave begins, if any.
Note that this tool is designed to
accommodate one extension per
volunteer. If a volunteer extends
twice, enter the COS date in effect
before the second extension in
Column F, and give the # of months
and date of home leave, if any, only
for the 2nd extension. The first
extension should have taken place
prior to the start of this fiscal year.

12 Feb 2007

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

Instructions Ts&Vs Tab, Inputs Tab

2)

Add to the list the same information

for Volunteers that have arrived
since the beginning of the year.

3a) On the "Input" tab, enter the

Effective Date, Post name, Location
Code, and Modified date.
The Effective date is the date as of
which the information in the VY
chart is accurate (default is todays
date use the lock date function in B2
to select another date). Update the
"Last Modified On" date when the
spreadsheet is modified. For
example, if you update the chart for
the prior fiscal year on October 21,
the Effective Date should be 30 Sept
and the Last Modified date is 21 Oct.
Do not lock the effective date (cell B2) unless you are working on a VY chart for the previous
year. In that case, enter Yes in cell B2 and a date from the prior fiscal year (usually 30 Sept).
12 Feb 2007

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

Instructions Inputs Tab

3b) Record one line for every input
group represented on the "Vs" tab.
Enter the group names exactly as
they appear on the Ts&Vs tab, and
add the arrival date, group size, and
COS date of the group. For
individuals that transfer in, enter
their data on separate lines unless
they arrive in the same month as a
TI group. Enter the expected months
of volunteer service in column L.

3c) Column I, "Accounted for on Vs

sheet" counts the number of
volunteers from each Input group
that are represented on the Vs page.
The cell turns red if the count is
different from the number of TI (or
transfers in) that you record in
columns C through G. Check this to
ensure that you have entered the
correct number of Volunteers (or
spaces for future volunteers) on the
Vs sheet.
In the example, notice that the TI
group size does not equal the
number of volunteers from the Vs
page that are associated with that
group.

12 Feb 2007

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

Instructions data entry at post

4)

Enter future TI on the

"Inputs" tab,

Then enter Expected ET and

extension projections (future
activity) for current and past
groups in columns M through P.
Recall that past ETs and extensions
are recorded on the Ts&Vs page.
Cells become shaded red in
columns M-P when the Arrival and
Expected COS dates indicate that
there should be no projected ETs or
extensions. If you are updating an
automated VY chart, be sure to
delete any numbers that appear in
these cells if they are shaded red!
It is critical to project ETs and
extensions for each group of
trainees / volunteers such that the
attrition and extension rates in
rows 1-4 of columns M-P reflect
historical averages.

12 Feb 2007

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

Instructions updating data

5a) Update the Ts&Vs tab as volunteers
arrive, ET, extend, COS, etc,
throughout the year.

As new trainees arrive, record their

names and input groups on the Vs
tab.
Enter ET dates for individuals as
they occur.
Enter extension and transfer details
as soon as these are known, even if
they will happen in the future.
Be sure to update the effective and
modified dates on the Inputs tab,
even if you dont make any other
changes on it. The Effective Date
is the single most important cell in
the spreadsheet. Failure to update
this cell may result in errors in your
VY chart!

update

5b) Update the inputs tab for

each major budget
exercise.

12 Feb 2007

Included all expected

trainee inputs for three
years in advance.
Adjust the expected
number of future ETs
and extensions for input
groups that are already
on board (columns M-P),
considering the time left
until they COS.
Be sure to update the
modified and
effective dates as
appropriate.

update

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

Instructions submission to OPBF

6)

Check to ensure that the VY chart is

showing what you wish to show.
For example, is the chart showing
the correct years? Note that the first
year of the VY chart is the fiscal year
of the effective date on the
Inputs tab. When doing your Op
Plans, the Effective Date should be
30 Sept of the fiscal year prior to the
year for which you are planning.
Cut and paste special / values all
the white (unshaded) cells of the VY
Chart tab in this file to the VY chart
provided by OBA for roll-up with
the budget exercise in question.
Email both files (this tool and the
VY chart provided by OBA,
completed) to the Budget Analyst
and to the CDU for analysis. This
tool will provide back-up detail for
the VY chart used for roll-up.
Print the entire workbook for your
records. Print ranges are set to
include the most pertinent cells, but
note that the Vs tab usually has
several pages. If you dont have that
many volunteers, do a print
preview and print only the pages
you need.

12 Feb 2007

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

Instructions desk maintenance and

verification of historical data

Desks can use this tool to track

COS and ET cables for each
post and check historical data
provided by posts for major
budget exercises.

12 Feb 2007

Start with a copy of the VY

chart as provided by post.
Verify that the Volunteers On
Board number is accurate as of
the date of the analysis.
As cables come in, update the
Vs tab and, when necessary,
the inputs tab. Follow post
instruction 5a on page 8 of this
manual.
Always remember to check
the Effective Date and
change the Last Modified
date on the inputs tab.
When posts submit VY charts
for a budget exercise, compare
the historical information in
the VY chart to ensure that it
matches yours.
If there are discrepancies,
compare data in the Vs and
Inputs pages to investigate the
differences.

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

10

Using filters (and other Excel tricks) to audit the chart

Filters select data in specified columns
according to criteria you select.
Example:

What volunteers have ETd?

Click on the triangle in the header

row of the ET date column and
select the last item on the list,
Nonblanks.
Notice that filtered row numbers
turn blue.
Notice that the triangle for filtered
columns turn blue
You can filter as many columns as
you want.
De-activate the filter(s) by clicking
the triangle again and selecting all.
Dont forget to remove filters when
youre through with your analysis
(make sure that all the row numbers
appear in black).

Filtered row #s
show in blue;
Filter triangles
turn blue when
activated.

Sum highlighted cells

If you highlight a group (or several
groups) of cells, their sum is shown
on the bottom right of the Excel
screen.
Example:

How many volunteers have ETd?

12 Feb 2007

Click on the N of column N on the

Vs tab and look at the sum.

Highlighted cells are

summed here.

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

11

Comparing Volunteers on Board with VIDA

Who are the Volunteers on Board as

of the Effective Date?

Filter column M of the Vs tab (the

Calculated COS date) to show items
not equal to n.a. and greater than
the Effective Date, as shown in the
screen-shot to the right.

Also filter column D (volunteer

name) to include only Nonblanks.

Count the volunteers by

highlighting column N and viewing
the sum on the right side of the
status bar on the lower part of your
screen.

Compare this number with the

number of volunteers on board as
shown at the beginning or end of the
appropriate month on the VY chart.
They should be the same if the
Effective Date is the first or last
day of the month.

Print the Vs page, if desired. This is

the list of volunteers to compare
with VIDA or another volunteer
roster.

Note: VIDA can generate a report of all

the volunteers on board as of any
given date. If your IT Specialist is
willing to experiment with the VIDA
Report Generator to produce this
report, please contact Phil Covell
(pcovell@peacecorps.gov).

12 Feb 2007

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

12

Other searches

Who are the volunteers that will

COS in March of 06?

Filter column Z of the Vs tab to

show only items equal to
FY2006MAR.
The names of volunteers on Board
due to COS that month will appear.
There will also be an adjustment for
volunteers attributable to this group
that will probably ET by that time
(see the -2 in the example). This
adjustment is driven by the
assumptions made on the inputs
tab.
The sum of the numbers in column
Y should equal the number of
COSing volunteers shown for March
06 in the VY chart.

Who is the person showing as an ET

in April 2006?

12 Feb 2007

If April 2006 occurs in the past, you

should be able to find the individual
by filtering column H, ET Date
and selecting dates in April 06.
Whether April 2006 is in the future
or in the past, the source of this
number can be found by filtering the
Vs tab, column R (for volunteers, or
column P for trainees) for items
equal to FY2006APR.
Future ET dates are generated in
columns U through AN of the
Inputs tab based on the
assumptions made on that tab in
columns M and N (see screenshot to
the right).

Using the Automated V-Year Chart

13