A comparison of actual and allocated costs for work accomplished using NASA PERT

A system for more objectively evaluating a contractor's performance on cost type contracts is described. The technique utilizes the existing NASA PERT and Companion Cost System without imposing any additional reporting requirements upon the contractor. Evaluation is obtained by a cost index which is calculated monthly and is a comparison of the contractor's actual costs incurred with baseline allocated costs. The allocated costs result from a reasonable distribution or allocation of the contractor's initial cost proposal dollars to activities reflecting this proposal in PERT fragnets. After this initial allocation, the computer calculates with each normal PERT Time updating, the allocated costs, or the total-resources-allocated-for-work-accomplished through the report date. The results of a pilot test case using the cost index are presented.