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Data and Methods The data for this analysis were originally collected from the Cost Assessment Data Enterprise (CADE) database and incorporated into Project Ginger II, an internal database compiled by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Financial Management directorate from historical CADE aircraft data for easier use in analyses. CADE is a centralized repository of comprehensive cost, schedule, software, and technical data. Also included in the repository are Contractor Cost Data Reports (DD 1921s), which are the primary means within the DoD to systematically collect actual data on the development and production costs incurred by contractors performing DoD acquisition contracts (CADE, n.d.). DD 1921s provide a contract-level overview of cost data by WBS element, to date and at completion. The DD 1921s report costs from WBS Level 1 all the way down to a WBS Level 5 or 6. Cost, Fee, General and Administrative, Price, and Miscellaneous categories are all reported as well; however, these elements are not considered a particular WBS level. For the purposes of this article, we refer to these as simply WBS elements.
As of July 2023, our initial data pull consisted of 59 DoD ACAT I RDT&E aircraft programs separated by contract number and then by WBS element. Each DD 1921 captures the total EAC at the time of the report (Block J) and the current total expended amount for each WBS element (Block F). Both reported amounts are in Then-Year dollars. The percent complete for each report is calculated by dividing the current expended amount by the final reported EAC (Block F/Block J). These EACs are not always reported at the beginning and at the end of the program for each
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Defense ARJ , Spring 2025, Vol. 32 No. 1
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