Reconciling EVMS with Agile
Written By: Ryan Stauffer, P.E., DeNOVO Solutions Software Architect
Introduction
In the last few years, the Government has undertaken a transformative shift towards Agile and adopted Agile toolsets such as Atlassian Jira workflow management application for programs and organizations utilizing #Agile Best Practices. All United States Department of Defense (DOD) / Intelligence Community (IC) programs are subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and many of these are specifically subject to 34.2, requiring the establishment of an Earned Value Management System (EVMS).
The requirement of EVMS and the high use of tools as part of the Agile management process have created a growing need to reconcile modern project management tools with EVMS needs. These approaches have historically been seen as incompatible, driving substantial overhead and even potentially disrupting how teams want to work. As an Atlassian Silver Partner, DeNOVO has experimented with and learned how to use Jira’s organization and data storage abilities to generate EVMS metrics in a way that lets Agile Teams develop at the speed of mission while generating the data needed to satisfy the FAR and give the Government confidence in a program’s execution.
FAR Requirements Overview
Subpart 34.2 of the FAR includes the following requirements for an Earned Value Management System for Government contracts:
?(a)?????An Earned Value Management System (EVMS) is required for major acquisitions for development, in accordance with OMB Circular A-11. The Government may also require an EVMS for other acquisitions, in accordance with agency procedures.
(b)???If the offeror proposes to use a system that has not been determined to be in compliance with the Electronic Industries Alliance Standard 748 (EIA-748), the offeror shall submit a comprehensive plan for compliance with these EVMS standards. Offerors shall not be eliminated from consideration for contract award because they do not have an EVMS that complies with these standards.
EIA-748 describes the 32 guidelines necessary to be compliant with EVMS. These guidelines include several different facets of data, many of which are not generally found in Agile development:
The combination of these factors, along with the expectation of clear estimation of scope planned in the future, has been seen by many as fundamentally incompatible with Agile, which embodies “the ability to create and respond to change” (Agile Alliance). However, given that EVMS is mandated by law for large Government contracts, contractors must be capable of reconciling these two philosophies to stay relevant and deliver quickly without falling out of compliance.
EVMS Data in Agile Tools
Because the core of EVMS is not common in Agile development, it comes as no surprise that Agile tools are not built for storing EV data, tracking EV metrics, or generating EV reports. Managing this information then drives additional complexity and cost above and beyond the specific work mandated by EVMS. The good news to this story is that some Agile tools such as Atlassian’s Jira are themselves built for agility, allowing for tailored customization to be added over the top of standard features to reduce cognitive load and minimize disruption to the teams making mission happen.
Through experience in supporting multiple programs using Agile frameworks such as SAFe? with EVMS requirements, we have identified the following key components to support EVMS with Agile tools:
* Note that because sensitive or proprietary data may be required for calculations (e.g. initial budgets), it’s important to understand if your tool supports obscuring this information from general users. In these situations, a more limited-access data repository may be needed to protect these inputs.
One challenge faced when addressing EVMS for Government programs is that cost, timekeeping, and budget data is frequently maintained in completely different applications from execution data. Even with the flexibility inherent within Jira and Confluence, the tools alone are not enough to fully create an integrated picture between Agile execution performance and the values needed for cost and schedule performance. To address this, some form of manual export or automated API integration is helpful to shortcut the amount of time localizing data into a single location, with plugins offering the most straightforward approach.
Ready-Made Solutions
As of this writing, when searching for “Earned Value” in the Atlassian Marketplace, four applicable results are returned. Of these four, two are cloud-only (Aneto Earned Value Management EVM for Jira and HORREUM Earned Value Management), and one is Server-only and originates from Russia (EV Chart). The final option, Budgets by Tempo, does provide an Earned Value Management mode for its Folios, but is driven entirely by hour logs or remaining estimate rather than allowing for true cost data as reflected in billing to the customer. In addition, permissions are limited to only viewers and administrators, limiting ability to delegate work to those who are responsible for it as per Agile principles. As such, no current contender on the market captures all of the facets of EVMS needed to satisfy Government requirements.
领英推荐
At DeNOVO, we took the feedback from our customers and are in development of a Jira app that integrates EVMS and Agile in one environment. This solution is developed internally by U.S.- based defense contractors and is being made available for use with Jira Data Center to support our clients' need to host Jira in their own environments. Our MVP release bridges the gap between the systems a contractor uses and enables each contract to link their financial actuals, baselines, and forecasts with the hierarchical items in their Jira, including allowing CAMs to import CSVs containing financial data and associate them to private Control Accounts to make the lift between systems easy and repeatable. When combined, our tool makes it easy to view and interpret EVMS metrics, including Earned Value, Cost Performance Index (CPI), Schedule Performance Index (SPI), and “To Complete” Performance Index (TCPI).
Our tool also empowers the contractor to restrict access to financial data. Through our intuitive permissions interfaces, users can define and restrict access at the control account and program wide levels. This grants contractors the flexibility and control to define who can see what data at each level while supporting multiple programs on one Jira instance. Because our customers often have environment and access restrictions, we developed a simple feature that enables users to bring their financial data to their Jira environment and upload it for joining with their Jira data. Combining the data in the engineering environment enables approved users to get real-time feedback on the performance of their control accounts and the overall program.
As iteration timelines rarely align nicely with financial reporting activities, each program in our plugin is given the ability to define the cadence and timing of their Jira data snapshots. This enables financial teams to take the time necessary to ensure the accuracy of financials without requiring Jira users to pause their work in the tool. This also supports a more visual form of history ordinarily not present in Jira, as graphs of CPI, SPI, and TCPI depict their trends over time as more snapshots and financial syncs are captured.
Conclusion
As removing EVMS from contracts is unlikely to happen in the near future, it is our responsibility as Government contractors to provide the best value to our customer under the constraints put upon all of us. The process of implementing EVMS in an Agile project may appear on its face to be an illogical process, but with the right approach and tools to support that approach, generating the necessary data is not as daunting as it seems. When done properly, all parties can be satisfied - executing teams can produce without needing to micromanage financials, CAMs have easy access to the data they need to respond to the customer, and leadership can quickly view their status and be ready for questions as they come. Recognize that tailoring is required to meet your individual customer and process, and you’ll be well on your way to creating a sustainable EVMS environment.
About Us
DeNOVO Solutions is a Minority/Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that delivers trusted professional and engineering services throughout the Intelligence Community (IC).
We make improving the competitive position of our customer paramount in importance and work collaboratively to ensure the best service possible. DeNOVO Solutions provides cleared personnel and cost competitive solutions to our customers. We strive to be the leader amongst small businesses in the Intelligence Community and provide personnel with talent & skills equal to the larger companies.
DeNOVO Solutions is a proven leader in the successful transition of organizations to Agile methodologies. We have expertise that enables us to rollout practices across all facets of an organization and to tailor tools to support your business and customer requirements.
To learn more about us, please visit our website www.theDeNOVO.com
About the Author
Ryan Stauffer, P.E. , Software Architect, has over 8 years of experience supporting Defense and Intelligence customers with solving technical and mission challenges.
Mr. Stauffer is experienced in developing software for both green-field and legacy applications, focusing on automation and reliability, as well as leading teams in Agile projects, both at the individual team and the program level.
Mr. Stauffer is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Colorado and holds a BS in Computer Science and a BS in Engineering - Mechanical from the Colorado School of Mines.
References
FAR Subpart 34.2: https://www.acquisition.gov/far/subpart-34.2
NDIA EIA-748 Intent Guide: https://www.ndia.org/-/media/sites/ndia/divisions/ipmd/division- guides-and-resources/ndia_ipmd_intent_guide_ver_d_aug282018.ashx
?Agile Alliance - What is Agile?: https://www.agilealliance.org/agile101/