EVALUATION OF THE COST ESTIMATING PROCESS
AT WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE
Technical Advisor
Francisco S. Reyes
White Sands Test Center
Budget Office
Prepared by
Andres Ruvalcaba
Materiel Test Directorate
Tactical Missiles Branch
December 2, 2004
EVALUATION OF THE COST ESTIMATING PROCESS
AT WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE
Andres Ruvalcaba
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Currently, White Sands Missile Range cost estimates account for the majority of the labor, material, contracts, and equipment costs. Thus, on the basis cost alone, WSMR's cost estimating process must be carefully monitored and evaluated.
The problem in this study was to determine the options regarding improving the current cost estimating process. Specifically, my research included becoming a member of the Integrated Product Team focused on the Strategic Plan Initiative 1.1. My primary focus was determining the present level of the existing cost estimating tools. I compared what the Army, Navy, WSMR and NASA organizations were using and evaluated their performance to propose an effective cost estimating tool for the IPT to consider. Interviews with several Branch Chiefs familiar with cost estimating provided the principal data for this study.
Overall, nearly everyone I interviewed agreed upon the need of an effective tool that would provide a system for managing project costs, measuring earned value, analyzing budgets, actuals and projections. However, I found that everyone has their own method of doing cost estimates and how they are archiving them.
During my investigation I found forty-five existing cost estimating methods and narrowed it down to a list of ...