Cost Benefit Analysis Support Environment

The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a production version Cost Benefit Analysis Support (CBASE) environment for C4 applications. The objectives of the Phase I project are: (i) establish viability of IDEF0 and IDEF3 for ABC-based cost analysis, (ii) investigate integration of IDEF0 and IDEF3 for cost analysis support, (iii) develop qualitative and quantitative cost benefit mechanisms using IDEF models, (iv) investigate model change propagation strategies for cost control, and (v) design and build prototype CBASE. The research adopts an innovative integration-driven approach to develop cost analysis support. The following activities will be undertaken to accomplish the project objectives: (i) develop mechanisms to integrate IDEF0 and IDEF3 models for the purpose of cost analysis, (iii) develop qualitative cost analysis mechanisms developed around IDEF3-based activations, (iv) investigate the use of the constraint propagation paradigm for monitoring and maintaining model changes, (v) demonstrate technical vieability of the research by building a proof of concept CBASE system, and (vi) write a detailed Phase II plan. The results of this research have the potential to significantly impact cost management methodologies of the future.