On a city park fencing package, earned value for completed posts and panels exceeds the actual cost spent so far. How should the team interpret the positive cost variance (CV)?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
Positive cost variance is good news on the fencing ledger: you earned more value than you spent, so the work done so far cost less than planned for that progress. It is not a schedule signal and not an automatic cancel button. Under budget relative to earned work is the plain reading.
Full Explanation
Cost variance (CV) equals earned value minus actual cost. A positive CV means earned value exceeds actual cost, so the fencing package is under budget for the work completed to date. CV does not by itself measure schedule position, and a positive reading is favorable rather than a signal to cancel or to claim an overrun.