From the course: Accounting Foundations: Cost Estimating
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Types of data: Technical and programmatic
From the course: Accounting Foundations: Cost Estimating
Types of data: Technical and programmatic
- Cost estimating requires a variety of data and understanding of the cost-data relationships. The bottom line is that people wanting the estimate will expect you to make the cost relevant and give it meaning, or as analysts would say, context. Without it, your estimate is meaningless. Here's an example. What if I come up to you and say 6,800? You'd probably give me a strange look because the number has no meaning to you. But if I said, in 2015 I paid $6,800 for a 2010 Chevy Silverado pickup truck, you would immediately know what I'm talking about. I've given you some context, I've made that number meaningful, I've made it easier to understand what you can do with that information. There are a few ways we can add in this context. We do that using key costs data terminology. Data is not just data, there are different kinds. And we can describe data as being technical, programmatic, primary, or secondary. Let's begin…
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