Systems Engineering Cost Estimation Across BAE Systems: Trans-Atlantic Collaboration and Identification of Future Opportunities

Abstract

As organizations develop more complex systems, increased emphasis is being placed on Systems Engineering (SE) to ensure that cost, schedule, and performance targets are met. Correspondingly, the failure to adequately plan and fund the systems engineering effort appears to have contributed to a number of cost overruns and schedule slips, especially in the development of complex aerospace systems. This has resulted in a recent increased emphasis on revitalizing systems engineering in government and commercial organizations. COSYSMO, the Constructive Systems Engineering Cost Model, is an “open” model that can help people reason about their decisions related to systems engineering through a structured approach for estimating systems engineering effort. BAE Systems, in close collaboration with University of Southern California (USC) Center for Systems and Software Engineering (CSSE) and the MIT/Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI), has been intimately involved in the development and validation of the model since its inception and continues to collaborate on the refinement of the model.