Solutions

ACEIT provides a robust and flexible platform to create solutions involving three major disciplines within an organization: Planning, Engineering, and Execution. Through ACEIT these usually disparate environments can be electronically integrated to allow rapid insight in key decision-making areas.

The following identifies real-world issues that ACEIT has successfully solved:

Cost-Engineering Platform to Optimize Cost vs Design trades

ACE has an extensive API that allows it to be called from other applications. This allows a user to build a cost model sensitive to design parameters (e.g., material, weight, volume, etc) that can be dynamically linked to a design tool to provide estimated costs and dollar impacts for different designs. This real-time feedback reduces the lag between developing a design and identifying if it is cost-effective.

Historical Database to Allow Quick look-up on Past Program History

ACDB is a key application of ACEIT that allows a non-programmer to structure a database to archive historical cost, schedule, technical, and programmatic data for any commodity. Through our ACDB.net product users can access a central SQL database server over a LAN/WAN or the internet to easily search and retrieve relevant historical data.

Develop and Distribute Up-To-Date and Relevant Estimating Methodologies

ACEIT has several products that can be used together for organizations to develop and publish estimating methodologies. Data can be stored in ACDB or any other database and brought into our CO$TAT application to allow an analyst to use regression techniques to develop pertinent estimating methodologies, these methodologies can then be consolidated into a searchable CER Library with our AIM product. Lastly, these Libraries can then be published on-line with our KNWS product to allow users the ability to easily search and retrieve relevant methodologies over a LAN/WAN or the Internet.

Build Reliable and High Quality Cost Models

ACE is a well-proven platform with over 15 years of proven success to allow users to build cost models in a standardized platform. This allows users to minimize their customization time and enter data/estimating methods into pre-defined fields. In addition, tools are in place to conduct error-checking, handle inflation, implement learning (cost-improvement) calculations, trace model logic, phase cost outputs, and graphically view the WBS hierarchy. All of this enables a user to have high-confidence that the estimate they build in ACE will be build in a high-quality manner and deliver cost estimating results that are reliable.

Determine the Potential Cost Range and Identify a Solid Target Cost for a Project/Program

Most estimates are developed and consist of only a point number, but in reality there is a range of outcomes that may be possible. With the RI$K functionality in ACE, a user can provide ranges for each estimate element and determine the overall range of the estimate and the overall probability of occurring. This allows the user to have additional insight into knowing if the "point estimate" is realistic. If it is not, the user now has indication of the range of the estimate and can identify the estimate level which has a higher level of confidence. By using this capability, managers can have higher confidence in knowing that their program is budgeted for success and mitigate the potential overruns that can occur.

Substantiate Budget Requests

ACEIT has two applications that support budget substantiation. The first is ACE. By using ACE estimators can develop a fully documented estimate and quickly create Basis of Estimates for any line item in the estimate. This provides the understanding of how the estimate was created and further substantiates the budget request. The use of RI$K to assess the cost range allows the estimator to identify the Most Likely cost. Our POST application then enables the user to quickly create graphical reports that summarize the estimate and provide the capability to analyze the cost results. In addition, POST allows the user to rapidly create a PowerPoint presentation or Word document by exporting the required tables and charts through a simple click of the button. With all of this capability, budget requests can be easily and thoroughly substantiated.