A cost estimate for a project such as the acquisition of a new aircraft or satellite system carries with it an inherent probability that the actual cost will exceed the estimate-that changes in requirements, technology, the economic environment, and a multitude of other factors that may occur over the life of the project will change the final cost. One major approach to cost risk analysis-the evaluating and quantifying of the uncertainty of a cost estimate-has been probabilistic: expressing the uncertainty in a cost estimate as a probability distribution over a range of potential costs. Cost analysts in industry and government and researchers in statistics and management have often proposed that, to get probability distributions for platforms using new and untried technologies, expert judgment should be tapped and subjective probability distributions elicited from the experts to represent cost uncertainty. This technical report reviews procedures for eliciting subjective probability distributions in cost risk analysis, both in the cost risk field and in other disciplines in which elicitation has been a topic of research-primarily, statistics and psychology. Because of a lack of empirical work in elicitation, especially in cost risk, the author also interviewed a number of senior people in the cost risk community, who gave insight into the practices of the field. This report should be of interest to cost analysis professionals who wish to quantify uncertainty when using expert opinions in cost risk analysis.

Engineering has changed dramatically in the last century. With modern computing systems, instantaneous communication, elimination of low/mid management, increased complexity, and extremely efficient supply chains, all have dramatically affected the responsibilities of engineers at all levels. The future will require cost effective systems that are more secure, interconnected, software centric, and complex. Employees at all levels need to be able to develop accurate cost estimates based upon defensible cost analysis. It is under this backdrop that this book is being written. By presenting the methods, processes, and tools needed to conduct cost analysis, estimation, and management of complex systems, this textbook is the next step beyond basic engineering economics. Features Focuses on systems life cycle costing Includes materials beyond basic engineering economics, such as simulation-based costing Presents cost estimating, analysis, and management from a total ownership cost perspective Offers numerous real-life examples Provides excel based textbook/problems Offers PowerPoint slides, Solutions Manual, and author website with downloadable excel solutions, etc.

Brick and Block Masonry - Trends, Innovations and Challenges contains the lectures and regular papers presented at the 16th International Brick and Block Masonry Conference (Padova, Italy, 26-30 June 2016). In an ever-changing world, in which innovations are rapidly implemented but soon surpassed, the challenge for masonry, the oldest and most traditional building material, is that it can address the increasingly pressing requirements of quality of living, safety, and sustainability. This abstracts volume and full paper USB device, focusing on challenges, innovations, trends and ideas related to masonry, in both research and building practice, will proof to be a valuable source of information for researchers and practitioners, masonry industries and building management authorities, construction professionals and educators.

Everyday we face decisions that carry an element of risk and uncertainty. The ability to analyse, communicate and control the level of risk entailed by these decisions remains one of the most pressing challenges to the analyst, scientist and manager. This book presents the foundational issues in risk analysis ? expressing risk, understanding what risk means, building risk models, addressing uncertainty, and applying probability models to real problems. The principal aim of the book is to give the reader the knowledge and basic thinking they require to approach risk and uncertainty to support decision making. Presents a statistical framework for dealing with risk and uncertainty. Includes detailed coverage of building and applying risk models and methods. Offers new perspectives on risk, risk assessment and the use of parametric probability models. Highlights a number of applications from business and industry. Adopts a conceptual approach based on elementary probability calculus and statistical theory. Foundations of Risk Analysis provides a framework for understanding, conducting and using risk analysis suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduates, analysts and researchers from statistics, engineering, finance, medicine and the physical sciences, as well as for managers facing decision making problems involving risk and uncertainty.

Observing at a risk analysis conference for civil engineers that participants did not share a common language of probability, Vick, a consultant and geotechnic engineer, set out to not only examine why, but to also bridge the gap. He reexamines three elements at the core of engineering the concepts

DECISION MAKING IN SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT A thoroughly updated overview of systems engineering management and decision making In the newly revised third edition of Decision Making in Systems Engineering and Management, the authors deliver a comprehensive and authoritative overview of the systems decision process, systems thinking, and qualitative and quantitative multi-criteria value modeling directly supporting decision making throughout the system lifecycle. This book offers readers major new updates that cover recently developed system modeling and analysis techniques and quantitative and qualitative approaches in the field, including effective techniques for addressing uncertainty. In addition to Excel, six new open-source software applications have been added to illustrate key topics, including SIPmath Modeler Tools, Cambridge Advanced Modeller, SystemiTool2.0, and Gephi 0.9.2. The authors have reshaped the book’s organization and presentation to better support educators engaged in remote learning. New appendices have been added to present extensions for a new realization analysis technique and getting started steps for each of the major software applications. Updated illustrative examples support modern system decision making skills and highlight applications in hardware, organizations, policy, logistic supply chains, and architecture. Readers will also find: Thorough introductions to working with systems, the systems engineering perspective, and systems thinking In-depth presentations of applied systems thinking, including holism, element dependencies, expansive and contractive thinking, and concepts of structure, classification, and boundaries Comprehensive explorations of system representations leading to analysis In-depth discussions of supporting system decisions, including the system decision process (SDP), tradespace methods, multi-criteria value modeling, working with stakeholders, and the system environment Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students studying systems engineering and systems engineering management, Decision Making in Systems Engineering and Management will also earn a place in the libraries of practicing system engineers and researchers with an interest in the topic.

The work is a context-oriented analysis and synthesis of complex engineered systems to ensure continuous and safe operations under conditions of uncertainty. The book is divided in four parts, the first one comprises an overview of the development of systems engineering: starting with basics of Systems Science and Single Systems Engineering, through System of Systems Engineering to Cognitive Systems Engineering. The Cognitive Systems Engineering model was based on the concept of imperfect knowledge acquisition and management. The second part shows the evolutionary character of the dependability concept over the last fifty years. Beginning from simple models based on the classical probability theory, through the concepts of tolerating faults, as well as resilience engineering, we come to the assumptions of Cognitive Dependability Engineering (CDE), based on the concept of continuous smart operation, both under normal and abnormal conditions. The subject of the next part is analysis and synthesis of Cyber-Physical-Social (CPS) Systems. The methodology consists of the following steps: modeling CPS systems' structure, simulating their behavior in changing conditions and in situations of disruptions, and finally assessing the dependability of the entire system based on CDE. The last part of the work answers the question of how to deal with risks in CPS systems in situations of high level of uncertainty. The concept of a Cognitive Digital Twin was introduced to support the process of solving complex problems by experts, and on this basis a framework for cognitive dependability based problemsolving in CPS Systems operating under deep uncertainty was developed. The possibilities and purposefulness of using this framework have been demonstrated with three practical examples of disasters that have happened in the past and have been thoroughly analyzed.