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each Program’s Dashboard. An analyst with CADE access may use this feature to store lessons learned
for use by future analysts. The analyst may also use the feature to research lessons learned by others.
Lessons learned may include any type of information that the estimator believes may be beneficial to a
future estimator that is updating the subject estimate or developing/updating a similar estimate.
Generally, lessons learned are only remembered for a short time, or by a select group of people.
Documenting lessons learned enhances the longevity of the lessons and increases the breadth of those
who are given a chance to learn from them.
The primary criterion for including a lesson learned is: does the analyst believe that knowing it in
advance it would have been beneficial. For example, a lesson learned might be that the planned
analogy required an adjustment to remove the effects of a year-long contractor labor strike that
occurred at the start of the analogous product’s manufacturing. Since events such as labor strikes
should not be accounted for in a cost estimate forecast, the analyst would explain the known labor
strike and its effects on the analogy, and how he/she adjusted the analogy to exclude these effects. The
analyst might want to include when the labor strike took place, as well as source documentation on the
labor strike. In this case, documentation might show that the analyst searched the CADE Community
Knowledge feature for the program of interest, and downloaded lessons learned for the analogous
program. Ideally, the content will confirm the labor strike occurred and provide insight into its impact.
This information serves as the basis to adjust the analogy. In this case, the analyst learned that he/she
needed to remove the labor strike impact from the analogy. Other, more straight forward, lessons
learned include: where to look for data, efficient estimate structure structure(s), most promising
estimating methods, unique and unexpected findings, where attention should have been focused, and
anything else that had the analyst known earlier, would have made the job easier.
Although documenting lessons learned takes time, the entire cost community can benefit from the
effort.
Documentation and Results References
• CAPE, Operating and Support Cost-Estimating Guide, 2014, para. 5.3.6, “Document Results”,
pg. 5-11, and para. 5.3.7 “Present Results”, pg. 5.11
• Department of the Army, Cost Analysis Manual, 2020, Chap 3 “Cost Estimating Process”, pg.
18 and Appendix 7 “Example Documentation”, pg. 81
• NCCA, Joint Agency Cost Estimating Relationship (CER) Development Handbook, 2018,
Chapter 6 “Step 6: Document CER”, pg. 177
• NCCA, Initial Cost Review Board (CRB) Guidance, 2015, Slides 11-34 (Various briefing
contents)
• NCCA, Joint Agency Cost Schedule Risk and Uncertainty Handbook, 2014, para. 2.6
“Document Cost Method and Cost Driver Uncertainty”, pg. 33 and Chapter 4 “How to
Present the CISM Risk and Uncertainty Story”, pg. 66
• NCCA, Cost Estimating Documentation Guide, 2012
• NCCA, Cost Estimating Guide, 2010 para. 1.6 “Present and Defend the Cost Estimate”, pg. 51
• NCCA-AFCAA, Software Cost Estimating Guide, 2008, Appendix F “System-Level Estimate
Case Study”, pg. 169, and Appendix G “Component-Level Estimate Case Study”, pg. 179
• SPAWAR, Inst 7110.1 Cost Estimating and Analysis, 2016, Enclosure 1, Chapter 8 “Present
and Defend Cost Estimate” pg. 22
• USMC, Cost Analysis Guidebook, 2017, para. 3.7 “Defend Cost Estimate Results”, pg. 53,
Appendix B “LCCE Report Format”, pg. 73 and Appendix “CARD Briefing Templates”, pg. 91