CDAS Workshop

This workshop is intended to promote an awareness of:

• The costing challenges, shortcomings, and needs in early concept phase concurrent design activities, and
• The existing and emerging costing capabilities to deal with some of these challenges, shortcomings, and needs.

The workshop will be valuable to technical workers in concept design environments and to those working in the area of performance based cost modeling, sometimes called Affordability Simulation. The area of overlap between these two groups is Systems Engineering, or more generally, the systems approach to problem solving.

Affordability Simulation

Affordability Simulation is the use of mathematical modeling to predict the likely cost of something on the basis of performance cost drivers. For instance, affordability simulation of a system to detect specific signals over a specified area with a specified degree of accuracy within a specified time might estimate cost with a mathematical model that reacts appropriately to changes in performance variables like range, response time, and detection rate. Cost and system descriptions are usually at a high level (as compared to that of proposals), but not so gross as to be irrelevant. Because so many alternatives are available, software is most often used to host the mathematical models, which carries the beneficial byproduct of integrating directly with design, performance and effectiveness models used as tools within concept design environments.

Concept Design Environment

A concept design environment is usually a collaborative setting where engineers, program specialists, and perhaps customers work together to design new systems. Design decisions are made via real-time interaction among participants. The environment fosters rapid evaluation and expected effectiveness of all design alternatives considered. The Concept Design Center, established by the Aerospace Corporation 10 years ago, is a good example of a concept design center (for more information on The Aerospace Corporation's Concept Design Center, see Publication). Deeper integration of Affordability Simulation into a Concept Design Environment has one goal - to more quickly drive decision making to design concepts that promise best value system effectiveness solution. The conceptual design study is the primary product of concept design. Since some studies demonstrate no affordable solution to a mission problem, a benefit to all is to arrive at the unaffordable conclusion as quickly as possible. Theoretically, this will enable more studies to be conducted and more capability to be realized over time. This workshop is a step to discovery of the proof of this theory. A series of six presentations by various professionals who have worked the problem will focus on CDAS methods, and a panel session at the end of the workshop will allow participants to ask questions of the presenters as a group.

Official Agenda

7:30 - 9:00 ~ Workshop Sign-In & Continental Breakfast

9:00 - 9:15 ~ Workshop Introduction (Marilee Wheaton, Aerospace Corp.)

9:15 - 9:45 ~ An Overview of Affordability Studies for NASA (Dave Bearden, Aerospace Corp.)

9:45 - 10:30 ~ Affordability Studies in the Concept Design Centers - Comparison of Parametric Methodologies (Mel Broder, Aerospace Corp.)

10:30 - 11:15 ~ Developing Cost Models for Affordability Simulation (Bruce Fad, PRICE Systems, LLC)

11:15 - 12:00 ~ From Total Ownership Cost to Total Cost Knowledge - Cost Modeling Interoperability, Integration and Optimization with Engineering Tools (Zachary Jasnoff, PRICE Systems, LLC)

12:00 - 1:00 ~ Lunch

1:00 - 2:00 ~ Concept (to Rapid Design) Cost Modeling at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Bill Lawson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

2:00 - 3:00 ~ Results of Integrating Cost Analysis and Conceptual Design (Joe Wilkerson, Boeing)

3:00 - 3:45 ~ Panel Q&A (All speakers)