Earned Value Reporting on Agile Software Development Programs within the Department of Defense

Abstract

The correct measurement of earned value on agile software development programs has recently been identified as a concern by software developers implementing agile development methods. This research attempts to address the difficulties in reporting earned value on agile development programs, and the differences between the measures of completion in agile development versus earned value reporting. The major difference was identified to be in translating between the work originally planned and the work that was “recently” planned as part of the agile development process. This difference, if not transparent, leads to different measurements of earned value and inconsistent reports of a program’s progress