Characterizing the accuracy of dod operating and support cost estimates

Abstract

For decades, the Department of Defense (DoD) has employed numerous reporting and monitoring tools for characterizing the acquisition cost estimates of its programs. These tools have led to dozens of studies thoroughly documenting the magnitude and extent of DoD acquisition cost growth. However, little attention has been paid to the behavior of the other main cost component of a system's life cycle cost: Operating and Support (O&S) costs. Consequently, the DoD has little knowledge regarding the accuracy of O&S cost estimates or how that accuracy changes over time. In a previous paper, the authors described an analytical methodology for remedying this deficiency via a study to characterize the historical accuracy of O&S cost estimates. The results are presented here, and indicate there tend to be large errors in DoD O&S cost estimates, and that the accuracy of the estimates improves little over time

Citation

Ryan, E.T., Jacques, D.R., Ritschel, J.D. and Schubert, C.M. (2013), "Characterizing the accuracy of dod operating and support cost estimates", Journal of Public Procurement, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 103-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOPP-13-01-2013-B004