NASA COST ESTIMATING HANDBOOK (CEH) — Version 4.0 (2015) [WARNING 21-MB DOWNLOAD]

NASA COST ESTIMATING HANDBOOK (CEH)— Version 4.0 (2015)., This is the fourth edition of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Cost Estimating Handbook (CEH), updating the 2008 edition. The purpose of this handbook is to serve as a guide for cost estimating at NASA. The intended audience covers the non-estimating professional and the new cost estimator, as well as experienced analysts. The intent of this revision is to provide an update reflecting significant policy changes since the 2008 edition. This revision includes the addition of an Appendix J addressing Joint Cost and Schedule Confidence Level (JCL) analysis and is intended to be a reference for cost estimating best practices at NASA. Other new topics have been added, and the document layout has been updated. This revision has been developed with the input and participation of the members of the Executive Cost Analysis Steering Group (ECASG), a multi-Center group that coordinates the internal NASA cost estimating and analysis community; ensures that appropriate policy is adopted; and promotes best practices are being developed, communicated, and used across the Agency. This update to the CEH provides current information on NASA cost estimating policy, including requirements for probabilistic estimating at Key Decision Points (KDPs) in the project1 life cycle. The information on how to develop probabilistic cost and schedule ranges for KDP-B (approval to start preliminary design) is provided in Appendix C and a JCL calculation in support of KDP-C (approval to start final design) is provided in Appendix J. For probabilistic estimating, the NASA cost community has found it necessary to incorporate active consideration of risk, schedules, and performance and to develop methods of incorporating these factors into cost estimates.