Ricardo Valerdi

The Constructive Systems Engineering Cost Model (Cosysmo): Quantifying the Costs of Systems Engineering Effort in Complex Systems Ricardo Valerdi

This book describes a parametric model that can help people reason about their decisions related to systems engineering. COSYSMO, the Constructive Systems Engineering Cost Model, contains eighteen parameters: four size drivers and fourteen effort multipliers. It is built on a framework similar to its well-known predecessor, COCOMO II, and integrates accepted systems engineering standards to define its scope. The model focuses on large-scale systems for military applications that employ a disciplined approach to systems engineering. Data were collected from six aerospace companies in the form of expert opinion and historical project data to define and calibrate the model. In reduced form, the model yields a PRED(30) of 50% for programs within a defined productivity range. The audience for this book is twofold: (a) those interested in the theoretical and methodological domain of systems modeling in the quest of a more quantitative cost estimation framework, and (b) those interested in advancing the state of practice in the assessment and tracking of systems engineering in the development of large aerospace systems.