This paper describes research conducted by the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) on the use of dynamic variables as a tool to monitor software development. The intent of the project is to identify project independent measures which may be used in a management tool for monitoring software development. This study examines several Fortran projects with similar profiles. The staff was experienced in developing these types of projects. The projects developed serve similar functions. Because these projects are similar we believe some underlying relationships exist that are invariant between the projects. These relationships, once well defined, may be used to compare the development of different projects to determine whether they are evolving the same way previous projects in this environment evolved.