EARNED HOURS

The time in Standard Hours credited to a workman or group of workmen as a result of their completion of a given task or group of tasks.

EARNINGS

1) Income produced from any economic activity. Earnings may be gross (total) or net (total minus Costs). 2) In the area of Contract Administration, earnings refer to a contractor's performance in terms of Accrued Expenditures and proportionate related fees, whether or not the Expenditures have been billed or are immediately billable to the Government.

ECONOMETRIC MODEL

An economic Model that predicts the behavior of any given Parameter or Variable based upon the flux of dependent or independent variables that comprise the model. See also Regression Analysis.

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

A systematic approach to a given problem, designed to assist a manager in solving a problem of choice. The full problem is investigated, and objectives and alternatives are analyzed and compared in light of their projected Benefits and Costs through the use of an appropriate analytical framework. Economic analysis is often used to determine the best use of scarce resources.

ECONOMIC ESCALATION

1) That amount of additional dollars necessary to reflect changes in the price level (Inflation) of goods and services being purchased over time. 2) The difference between the Constant Dollar total and the current or projected year totals of the Cost of goods and services purchased. Economic Escalation may be historical (actual impact), projected (estimated future impact), or both.

ECONOMIC LIFE

The period of time over which the Benefits to be gained from a system may reasonably be expected to accrue to the owner. In Economic Analysis this is the minimum projected duration of its physical, technological, military, or political life.

ECONOMIC LOT SIZE

That number of units of material or a manufactured item that can be purchased or produced within the lowest Unit Cost range. Its determination involves reconciling the decreasing trend in preparation unit Costs and the increasing trend in unit costs of storage, interest, insurance, Depreciation, and other costs incident to ownership, as the size of the lot is increased.

ECONOMIC ORDER QUANTITY

1) The most economical quantity of parts to order at one time to support a defined production rate, considering applicable procurement and Inventory Costs. 2) That quantity derived from a mathematical technique used to determine the optimum (lowest) total Variable Costs required to order and build inventory.

ECONOMIC ORDER QUANTITY PRINCIPLE

A supply optimization technique used to compute Replenishment order quantities of Consumable material, whereby the Cost to order is equated against the cost of carrying the inventory to achieve the most economical procurement, storage and inventory practices.

ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT

A contractual alteration permitted and specified by contract provisions for the upward and/or downward revision of a stated contract price based upon actual experience (future years) as compared to forecasts of selected economic indices at the time the contract was negotiated. See also Inflation and Escalation.

ECONOMIC PRODUCTION RATE

The most economically feasible rate at which an End Item can be manufactured.

ECONOMICS

1) The science of the production, distribution, and Consumption of commodities. 2) The study of how society chooses, with or without the use of money, to employ scarce productive resources, which may have alternative uses, to produce various commodities and distribute them for consumption, now or in the future, among various people and groups in the society.

ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Reductions in the Unit Cost of output resulting from the production of additional units. Economies of scale generally stem from: (a) the increased specialization of labor as volume of output increases; (b) the decreased unit Costs of materials required for increased production; (c) the better utilization of management over a broader production Base; (d) the acquisition of more Efficient equipment; and/or, (e) the greater use of by-products.

ECONOMY

1) A system for the management and development of resources. 2) The wise Expenditure of money, careful use of material, and/or the management of the resources of a community.

EFFECTIVE COMPETITION

A Marketplace condition that results when two or more manufacturing sources are acting independently of each other. See Competition.

EFFECTIVENESS

1) A measure of the extent to which an item satisfies a set of specific, preestablished requirements. 2) The extent to which the goals of a system are attained. 3) The degree to which a system can be expected to achieve a set of specific mission requirements. See Operational Effectiveness and System Effectiveness. 4) An output of Cost Effectiveness Analysis.

EFFICIENCY

1) The quality of being Efficient. 2) The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in a system. 3) The mathematical reciprocal of a Realization Factor. See also Efficiency Factor.

EFFICIENCY FACTOR

A ratio of the Standard Hour value to the actual hours used, Efficiency is expressed as a percent derived by dividing the standard hours by the actual hours.

EFFICIENT

1) Acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste or effort. 2) Exhibiting a high Ratio of output to input. See Efficiency.

EFFORT DISTRIBUTION FACTOR (EDF)

A measure of what percentage of effort is allocated to a specific phase of the Software Development Cycle: (a) Analysis and Design (AD); (b) Code and Unit Test (CUT); or, (c) Integration and Testing (IT).

ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY (EMC)

The ability of communications-electronics equipments, subsystems, and systems, together with electromechanical devices to operate in their intended operational environments without suffering or causing unacceptable Degradation because of unwanted electromagnetic radiation or response.

ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE (EMI)

Interference in a piece of Electronic Equipment caused by another piece of electronic or other equipment. Electromagnetic interference is sometimes referred to as interference caused by nuclear explosion.

ELECTRONIC COUNTER MEASURE (ECM)

Equipment used to negate enemy electronic target seeking devices.

ELECTRONIC COUNTER-COUNTER MEASURE(S) (ECCM)

That division of Electronic Warfare involving actions taken to insure friendly effective use of the electromagnetic, optical, and acoustic spectra despite the enemy's use of electronic warfare, to include high power microwave techniques.

ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING (EDP)

A general, categorical designation normally used when referring to the entire field of electronic Data Processing machines, equipment, and software. See Automatic Data Processing.

ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM (EDPS)

An electronic digital Computer and the associated software necessary to perform a complete Data Processing function.

ELECTRONIC DECEPTION

The deliberate radiation, reradiation, alteration, absorption or reflection of electromagnetic energy in a manner intended to mislead an enemy in the interpretation or use of information received by his electronic system.

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

Any system, or equipment, the primary purpose of which is the transmission or reception of intelligence, and includes or comprises, communications or signal equipment, radio, radar, radiation, radio-controlling devices, meteorological instruments, power-plant controls, synchronizers, photographic and test equipment when such portions employ circuits which utilize a combination of electrical or electronic devices to generate, Control, indicate, or record any form of alternating or direct currents, or both.

ELECTRONIC JAMMING

The deliberate radiation, reradiation or reflection of electromagnetic energy with the object of impairing the use of electronic devices, equipment or systems being used by an enemy.

ELECTRONIC WARFARE

Military action involving the use of electromagnetic energy to determine, exploit, reduce or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum and action which retains friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

ELECTRONICS

1) The science and technology concerned with devices involving the emission, behavior, and effect of electronics in vacuums, gases and semiconductors. Technically, electronics is a broad term extending into divergent fields, and it is necessary to define the scope covered by electronics in terms of electronic materiel. 2) See Electronic Equipment.

ELEMENT

1) A fundamental constituent or principle of something. 2) A member of a set. 3) Component. 4) A complete, integrated set of subsystems capable of accomplishing an operational role or function, such as navigation. 5) The Configuration Item delivered by a single contractor. 6) See Program Element.

ELEMENT OF COST

A value which can be identified with a type of effort expended in the performance of a Statement of Work. Examples of Cost Elements are labor, material, overhead, and travel.

EMBEDDED COMPUTER RESOURCES

A Computer system physically incorporated (not necessarily within) into a larger system whose function is not Data Processing. Embedded resources may be stand-alone, however they must be integral to the larger system. Embedded Computer Resources can be used for other purposes, provided that their primary function is to support a weapons system. See also Mission Critical Computer Resources.

EMPIRICAL COST ESTIMATING

The step by step creation of a Cost Estimate based only on the skills, knowledge, developed intuition, and working files (historical, empirical Data) of a proficient Cost estimator. The amount, extent, or level of the details of the work performed is dependent on the technical definition of the job which can be obtained or deduced, and the time allotted for the Cost Estimating task. See Cost Estimating Methods.

ENACTMENT

1) Action by Congress on the President's Budget, enactment includes hearings, Concurrent Budget Resolutions, Authorizations, and Appropriations acts. The result of enactment is appropriations (Funding) for the Federal Government. 2) The second of four phases in the DoD Resource Allocation Process.

END ITEM

1) Any hardware, software, Facilities, or services that are deliverable or supplied to a customer on a contract. 2) A final combination of end products, Component parts, and/or materials which is ready for its intended use. 3) A Configuration Item.

ENGINEERING

The effort and Costs expended in the scientific exploration, study, Analysis, Design, Development, Evaluation, and redesign of a specific task or Work Breakdown Structure Element. It includes the preparation of specifications, drawings, parts lists, wiring diagrams, technical coordination between engineering and manufacturing, supplier coordination, test planning and scheduling, analysis of test results, Data Reduction, and report preparation. Engineering also includes the determination and specification of requirements for Reliability, Maintainability, and Quality Control. It is a basic functional cost category or Cost Element.

ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING DEVELOPMENT (EMD)

The third phase in the Acquisition Life Cycle. The system/equipment and the principal items necessary for its support are fully developed, engineered, designed, fabricated, tested, and evaluated. The intended output is, as a minimum, a preproduction system which closely approximates the final product, the documentation necessary to enter the Production and Deployment phase, and the test results which demonstrate that the production product will meet stated requirements.

ENGINEERING (OR TASK) CHANGE

1. An alteration in the physical or Functional Characteristics of a system, contractual tasks, or items delivered, to be delivered, or under Development, after the establishment of such Characteristics. 2. An alteration in the Configuration of a Configuration Item or items, delivered, to be delivered, or under development, after formal establishment of its Configuration Identification. There are two types of Engineering change: Engineering Change, Class I; and, Engineering Change, Class II. See also Scope Change.

ENGINEERING CHANGE, CLASS I

An Engineering Change shall be classified Class I when one or more of the following factors is affected: (a) the functional or allocated Configuration Identification; (b) the product Configuration identification, as contractually specified, excluding referenced drawings; (c) technical requirements contained in the product configuration identification, including referenced drawings, as contractually specified, such as: (i) performance is outside of stated tolerance; (ii) Reliability, Maintainability, or Survivability is outside of stated tolerance; (iii) weight, balance, moment of inertia; or, (iv) interface Characteristics; (d) non-technical contractual provisions, such as: (i) fee; (ii) incentives; (iii) Cost; or, (iv) schedules; or (e) other factors, such as: (i) Government Furnished Equipment (GFE); (ii) safety; (iii) electromagnetic characteristics; (iv) operational, test, or maintenance Computer Programs: (v) Compatibility with support equipment or training devices/equipment; (vi) configuration to the extent that retrofit action would be taken; (vii) delivered operations and maintenance manuals for which adequate change/revisions funding is not on existing contracts; (viii) pre-set adjustments or schedules affecting operating limits or performance to such extent as to require assignment of a new identification number; (ix) interchangeability, substitutability or replaceability, as applied to Configuration Items, and to all subassemblies and parts of repairable configuration items, excluding the pieces and parts of nonrepairable subassemblies; or, (x) sources of configuration items or repairable items at any level defined by source control drawings. See Out of Scope Change.

ENGINEERING CHANGE, CLASS II

An Engineering Change shall be classified Class II when it does not fall within the definition of an Engineering Change, Class I. Examples of a Class II Engineering change include: (a) a change in documentation only, such as correction of errors, addition of clarifying notes or views, etc.; and, (b) a change in hardware (such as substitution of an alternative material) which does not affect any factor influencing a Class I change. See In Scope Change.

ENGINEERING CHANGE PROPOSAL (ECP)

1) A proposed change to contract specifications. ECPs apply to changes that affect the physical, functional, performance, maintenance, or logistics Characteristics of a system as contracted for by the customer. 2) A proposal to the responsible authority recommending that a change to an original item of equipment be considered, and the Design or Engineering Change be incorporated into the article to modify, add to, delete or supersede original parts.

ENGINEERING COST ESTIMATE

An Estimate derived by summing detailed Cost Estimates of the individual Work Packages and adding appropriate Burdens. Engineering cost estimates are usually developed by a contractor's industrial engineers, price analysts, and Cost accountants.

ENGINEERING DATA

Engineering documents such as drawings, associated lists, accompanying documents, manufacturer specifications, and standards, or other information prepared by a Design activity and relating to the design, manufacture, procurement, test or inspection of items or services.

ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT

1) A DoD funding category including those Development programs being engineered for service use, but which have not yet been approved for procurement or operation. 2) One of six Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Program Categories.

ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT MODEL (EDM)

An advanced Prototype used during the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase to resolve Design deficiencies, demonstrate maturing performance, and develop proposed production specifications and drawings.

ENGINEERING LABOR

That Direct Labor expended by Engineering employees while performing all scientific investigations, technical process, research, Development and Design, System Engineering, testing, logistics and support to manufacturing process for a specific product.

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

The management of the Engineering and technical effort required to transform requirements into an operational system. It includes the System Engineering required to define the system performance parameters and preferred system Configuration to satisfy the requirement, the planning and Control of technical program tasks, integration of the engineering specialties and the management of a totally integrated effort of Design engineering, specialty engineering, test engineering, logistics engineering, and Production Engineering to meet Cost, technical, performance, and schedule objectives.

ENHANCEMENT

1) A change which increases the Value of something. 2) Improvements to augment the Design or Physical Characteristics of a product or system.

EQUIPMENT

Property of a more or less durable nature, which may be expected to have a period of service of a year or more after being put into use without material impairment of its physical condition.

EQUIPMENT REPAIR TIME

The Median value of time required to repair a piece of equipment.

EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE DATA

Historical information relating to Maintainability, Reliability, and Availability characteristics of systems, subsystems, and Components of weapons and equipments during their operational application or tests simulating actual operations.

EQUIPMENT SCHEDULING AND LOADING

The effective and Efficient loading of machines according to their capabilities to perform defined operations utilizing their maximum Capability to assure attainment of the manufacturing schedule.

EQUITY

1) An interest or share in Property or Capital investment. 2) The owner's or stockholders' net Investment after deducting Liabilities from Assets as distinguished from Bond holders.

EQUIVALENT LABOR (OR PERSONNEL)

The required fulltime personnel needed to perform a given task on regular time with normal labor loss such as: (a) vacations; (b) sick leave; (c) holidays; (d) leavewithpay; or, (e) leavewithout-pay. Equivalent personnel is calculated by dividing the total hours (including overtime) by an equivalent personnel factor for the same time period. See also Headcount.

EQUIVALENT LABOR (OR PERSONNEL) FACTOR

A Factor used to convert manhours into the number of fulltime employees required to accomplish a specific task within a given time period with normal labor loss such as: vacations, sick leave, holidays, etc., but, without the use of overtime. Factors differ between years, by geographical location, by company, and the Government as a result of different holiday schedules and vacation patterns. The Equivalent Labor factor is also referred to as labor conversion factor.

ERRATA

A minor revision to a document or report to make typing, spelling, and number corrections. It does not add to, subtract from, or make changes to the content of the document or report.

ESCALATION

1) A term traditionally used to indicate an upward or downward movement of price. 2) The use of a price index to convert past to present prices, or to convert present to future prices. 3) An increase due to Inflation. See also Economic Escalation.

ESCALATION CLAUSE

A contract clause which provides for upward and downward adjustment of the total contract price on the basis of increases or decreases from a forecast of the level of Escalation for future years. The business Risk of a contractor is reduced by the inclusion of an escalation provision, in which the Government and the contractor agree to revise contract prices based upon actual escalation experience. See also Economic Price Adjustment.

ESCALATION RATE

The measurement of the realized and/or forecasted annual change in the general price levels of goods and services, expressed as a percentage of the previous levels.

ESTABLISHED CATALOG PRICE

A price included in a supplier's catalog, price list, schedule or other form that: (a) is regularly stocked by the manufacturer or supplier; (b) is published or made available for inspection by customers; and, (c) states prices at which sales are currently or were last made to a significant number of buyers in the general public or industry.

ESTABLISHED MARKET PRICE

A current price, established in the usual and ordinary course of trade between buyers and sellers free to bargain, which can be substantiated from sources independent of the manufacturer or supplier, although the obtaining of such pricing Data may have to come from the seller. See Market Value.

ESTIMATE

1) To evaluate and calculate the approximate quantity, Cost, or extent of a given item or task. 2) A calculation of the total resources (labor hours, material costs), travel, Computer costs and other costs, including appropriate rates and Factors, which are required to accomplish a contract, task or work item. See Estimating and Cost Estimate.

ESTIMATE TO COMPLETION (ETC)

An Estimate of all Costs for the authorized but unaccomplished portion of a specific Contract from the date of the estimate through contract completion. See also Balance to Complete Estimate.

ESTIMATED ACTUALS

The Costs reported to a contract during a contractor's accounting year, consisting of: (a) the Direct Labor and material reported in this period as Actuals, which are not subject to revision; and, (b) the applicable Overhead and General and Administrative (G&A) Costs, as reported to the contract on approved Billing rates. The term "estimated actuals" is used because these rates cannot be firm until the close of the accounting year and the completion of the Government Audit and negotiation of allowable charges to overhead and G&A pools. Contract Billings are then adjusted upward or downward to reflect the results of the approved overhead charges and rate negotiations.

ESTIMATED COST

1) The conversion of Estimates into dollars by the application of rates and Factors. 2) The amount stated in a contract as the estimated Cost. 3) In proposal usage, the estimated cost includes costs without profit or fee.

ESTIMATED COST AT COMPLETION

The current Estimate of what the final Cost will be for a specific task, whether it is the total contract or just a portion thereof. It consists of actual Direct Costs, plus Indirect Costs allocable to the contract or task, plus the estimate of costs (direct and indirect) for Authorized Work remaining to be accomplished.

ESTIMATED TOTAL PRICE

Total Cost plus Fee or Profit, synonymous with the term Price.

ESTIMATING

1) The art of approximating the probable worth, extent, quantity, quality, or character of something based on information available at the time. 2) The prediction of Cost(s). 3) The generation of detailed and realistic forecasts of hours, material costs, or other requirements for a task, subtask, operation, or a part or groups thereof, generally in response to a Request for Proposal or specific Statement of Work. Estimating also covers the generation of forecasted costing Rates and Factors, with which estimate Variables may be converted to costs, and the application of these costing rates and Factors to "estimate numbers" to establish forecasted costs. See also Estimate, Cost Estimate, Cost Estimating, and Cost Estimating Methods.

ESTIMATING INSTRUCTIONS

Direction specifying the information and inputs required to develop, prepare, and document a Cost Estimate.

ESTIMATING METHODOLOGY

1) The approach used to develop an Estimate. 2) A description of the Estimating system utilized and the steps undertaken to achieve a particular estimate. 3) An explanation of how an estimate was calculated, as opposed to the Rationale, which is what makes the estimate reasonable or valid. See also Cost Estimating Methods, Estimating Techniques, and Methodology.

ESTIMATING RELATIONSHIP

1) A statement describing how two or more Variables affect each other. 2) A mathematical formula used to derive an Estimate of one variable based on its relationship to other variables. Estimating relationships may be simple multipliers, which, when applied to other variables, establish an estimate of hours, material Cost, or some other basic estimate. The use of Estimating relationships or Cost Estimating Relationships (CER) is often referred to as Parametric Estimating. See also Factor.

ESTIMATING TECHNIQUE

The processes or procedures used to develop an Estimate, estimating techniques include Cost Models, Cost Estimating Relationships, and Improvement Curves, etc. See also Cost Estimating Methods, Estimating Methodology, and Methodology.

ESTIMATOR

A person who performs Estimating tasks.

EVALUATE

To ascertain, judge, or fix the value, amount, or worth of something.

EVALUATION

The review and Analysis of information or Data. See also Technical Evaluation and Test and Evaluation.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

1) The standards against which performance, conformance and/or accomplishments are measured and evaluated. 2) In a Request for Proposal, the list of specific requirements and standards against which all Proposals will be rated and judged. See also Criteria for Evaluation.

EVENT BASED CONTRACTING

Contracts written to support an Event Driven Acquisition Strategy by linking specific contractual events to the Exit Criteria established for a specific phase of the Acquisition Life Cycle, or to intermediate Development events established for the Acquisition Strategy.

EVENT DRIVEN ACQUISITION STRATEGY

An Acquisition Strategy that links program decisions to demonstrated accomplishments in Development, testing, and/or production. See Event Based Contracting.

EVOLUTIONARY ACQUISITION

An Acquisition Strategy approach in which a core Capability is fielded, but the system is designed with a modular structure and provisions for future upgrades and changes as requirements are refined. An evolutionary acquisition strategy is well suited to high technology and software intensive programs where requirements beyond a core Capability can generally, but not specifically, be defined.

EVOLUTIONARY REQUIREMENTS DEFINITION

A method of defining system requirements whereby mission needs are first expressed in broad Operational Capability terms, then progressively evolved to system specific performance requirements. See Mission Need Statement (MNS) and Operational Requirements Document (ORD).

EXAMINATION

An Element of Inspection consisting of investigation, without the use of special laboratory appliances or procedures, of supplies and services to determine conformance to those specified requirements which can be determined by such investigations. Examinations are generally non-destructive and include, but are not limited to visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, and other sensual investigations, and simple physical manipulation, gauging, and measurement.

EXCESS PROFIT

Profit over and above an established dollar or percentage limit.

EXCLUSIVE LICENSE

A license covering a patent, technical or Proprietary Data, technical assistance, know-how, or any combination of these, granted by a U.S. firm to a foreign firm or government to produce, co-produce, or sell an article or service within a given sales territory without Competition from any other licenses, or from the licensor. A non-exclusive license is a license as described as above, except that competition may be permitted with other licensees and/or the licensor.

EXECUTE

1) To carry out, or perform. 2) To legalize, as by signing and sealing.

EXECUTION

1) The act of executing. See Execute. 2) The operation of carrying out a program as contained in the approved Budget. See Budget Execution.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

1) One of the three primary branches of the U.S. Government (the other two being the Legislative Branch and the Judicial Branch), the Executive is the Branch charged with putting into effect the country's laws, and includes the President and all Agencies directly under his Control. 2) For Acquisition, the principal participants within the Executive Branch include the President, the Department of Defense (DoD), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Department of State, and the National Security Council (NSC). Their perspective is to formulate, direct, and execute national security policy.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTION

Authority and guidance for defense Acquisition from the Executive Branch, in the form of Executive Orders and National Security Decision Directives (NSDDs) from the President, and regulations from cabinet level departments and other federal Agencies.

EXIT CRITERIA

Program specific accomplishments that must be satisfactorily demonstrated before an effort or program can progress further in the current Acquisition Phase or transition to the next phase in the Acquisition Life Cycle. Exit criteria may include such factors as critical test issues, the attainment of projected growth Curves and Baseline parameters, and/or the results of risk reduction efforts deemed critical to the decision to proceed further. Exit criteria supplement minimum required accomplishments and are specific to each Acquisition.

EXPENDITURE(S)

1) A charge against available funds. 2) Evidenced by voucher, Claim, or other document approved by competent authority, expenditure represents the actual payment of funds. See also Disbursement and Expenses.

EXPENDITURE-BASED BUDGET

A Budget based on the Cost of goods and services to be actually received and paid for, during a given period. Not to be confused with a Cost-Based Budget, which is based on the cost of goods and services received, whether paid for before the end of the period or not.

EXPENSES

1) Money paid, needed, or provided for a specific purpose. 2) A measure of Cost or sacrifice. 3) Expired costs that are deducted from Revenue for a given period. See also Expenditures.

EXPERT OPINION

An Estimating method of gathering experts in areas such as Engineering, manufacturing, procurement, and testing, etc. to "brain storm" Estimates. Estimating by expert opinion is usually utilized only on a new concept with little or no definition, and is marked by decisions based solely on individual judgment and similar experience. See Cost Estimating Methods and Round Table Estimating.

EXPIRED APPROPRIATION

An Appropriation which is no longer available for new Obligation, but which is still available for Disbursement to liquidate existing obligations. Under current legislation no disbursement can be recorded or paid after a five year expiration period. See M-Account.

EXPLORATORY DEVELOPMENT

1) A DoD funding category including all effort toward the solution of specific military problems, short of major Development projects. 2) One of six Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Program Categories.

EXPOSURE

The amount of contractor or company funds risked (or "exposed") in proceeding without customer funding coverage.

EXTRAPOLATE

To infer unknown information from known information or Data.

EXTRAPOLATION FROM ACTUAL COSTS

A Cost Estimating Methodology which requires prototype, preproduction, or prior production Actual Cost data on the system being estimated. Extrapolation is primarily used in Estimating the production Cost of system hardware, and assumes an Estimating Relationship, based on physical, technical, and/or performance Characteristics, between the cost of the prototypes or earlier production units and the cost of the production units being estimated