The Department of Defense (DoD) cost community, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), the service cost centers, and the Air Force Cost Analysis Agency (AFCAA) have committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our cost estimating capabilities. The Air Force (AF) has identified numerous gaps in the databases, methods, and tools they regularly use for cost estimating and analysis. Although this effort addresses these gaps for the AF, the solutions will be made available to the entire cost community, leading to improved quality, timeliness, and effectiveness of DoD acquisition program cost estimates.

The Dataset, Analysis, and Methods (DSAM) effort begins new research similar to the previous effort, but focused on different gaps and requirements for dataset, tools, and methods development and associated knowledge-based studies. AFCAA’s DSAM effort provides and enhances AF-wide cost estimating capabilities by developing current cost data and estimating methods and tools. It develops and modernizes cost data, methods, and tools throughout all major AF commodities for use by the AF and DoD. In collaboration with the OSD Cost Assessment Data Enterprise (CADE) project, these products will improve the quality, timeliness, and effectiveness of the acquisition program cost estimates required by statute (e.g., Title 10, United States Code (USC) § 3221, 3227, 4251, 4252, 4253, and 4328) and regulation (e.g., DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5000.02, DoDI 5000.73, Air Force Instruction (AFI) 65-508) in support of AF and DoD acquisition decisions, programming and execution decisions, and Congressional mandates.