Virtualness of the Cost Estimating Community

<p>Many researchers have sought to identify the sources for cost and schedule growth most researchers failed to analyze the resource utilization of the cost community. This research explores how the cost community allocates its time. Furthermore by examining how resources are spent this research will juxtapose the desires of recent Congressional and Department of Defense policies against the current demands of the cost community. A thorough understanding of resource allocation requires research into the inherent virtualness of the community. Early virtualness predicated the notion of extremes either virtual or not. However recent literature expands virtualness into gradients and explains that all teams display some measure of virtualness. Unfortunately scholars currently debate the basic definition of virtualness either being comprised of three or four individual dimensions. This research uses an internet-based questionnaire to ascertain a measure of virtualness. The findings of this research support a four dimension measure of virtualness. This research uses structural equation modeling to validate and test for good reliability of the created 13 item measure for virtualness. This research finds that resources are largely allocated to the creation and modification of cost estimates while few resources are spent on the implementation or follow-up of estimates.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>