This is the last and third element of earned value management. Earned Value is the value of the work actually completed to date, or you can say that if the project is terminated today, Earned Value will show you the value that the project has produced.
As per the PMBOK Guide “Earned Value (EV) is the value of work performed expressed in terms of the approved budget assigned to that work for an activity or WBS component.”
Although all three elements have their own significance, Earned Value is more respected because it shows you how much value you have earned from the money you have spent to date.
Earned Value is also known as Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP).
There is a difference between Planned Value and Earned Value. Planned Value shows you how much money you have planned to complete the work in a given time, while Earned Value shows you how much work you have actually completed or earned on the project.