by Thiru Bujala
                      BS MBA PMP SCPM

Most software development methods, including Agile Methods, have a mechanism to measure progress to plan. But comparing actual cost with planned costs is simply measuring the “level of effort” consumed over a time period. This measurement does not describe the “value” delivered by the invested effort. The critical aspect of Earned Value Analysis is the determination of “value” delivered (BCWP) in exchange for hours or dollars invested (ACWP) for software projects.
This earned value is the basis for determining the cost and schedule performance for a task or project.
Technical Performance Measurement
Yashi employs “Technical Performance Measurement” for measuring value. Technical Performance Measurement is the plan for expected technical achievement. The actual progress of the project is compared using periodic measurements or tests. The difference between the planned progress and the actual progress represents a technical variance. Technical Performance Measurement is an accepted Earned Value approach for assigning value to BCWP (Budgeted Cost for Work performed).
Testable Requirements
Within Earned Value’s Technical Performance Measurement our approach to measuring the “value” of a software component (BCWP) is the use of testable requirements as a completion criteria and a linearly adjusted monetary value for the component as a percent of Budgeted Cost for Work Scheduled (BCWS). A testable requirement can be decomposed to a collection of precise, unambiguous, and indivisible set of low–level requirements. These criteria are only met if it is possible to write a test case that would validate whether the requirement has or has not been implemented correctly. This is the source of the term “testable requirement.”

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EVMS and Agile