ICEAA Washington Capital Area Chapter Virtual Luncheon

Cerberus Training Dataset

Tuesday, April 5
11:30am-12:30pm EDT

Speakers: Daniel Germony & Adam James

Cost estimating and analysis regularly involves proprietary or sensitive data, which limits analyst’s ability to share their results, techniques, and methods. Historically, non-proprietary sample datasets have been smaller and less complex than the real world alternative, limiting the sample data’s usefulness for training. The Office of the Secretary of Defense – Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (OSD CAPE) has, with the assistance of Tecolote Research, LLC and Technomics, Inc., resolved this sample dataset issue by creating and releasing the “Cerberus Training Dataset”. The “Cerberus Training Dataset” includes over a dozen data deliverables, utilizes multiple report formats, and spans a five-year notional Major Weapon System Acquisition program. The data deliverables are primarily based around the “Cost and Software Data Reporting” framework and are the same size and complexity as real world deliverables the CAPE receives and utilizes to prepare its Independent Cost Estimates. In this luncheon, Daniel Germony (OSD CAPE), will review what sample data is included in the “Cerberus Training Dataset”, how the dataset was developed, how ICEAA members can obtain a copy of the data, and a call to action to use this dataset when developing training, tools, or to show off different analytical techniques in the future.

Daniel Germony is an Operations Research Analyst working in the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) – Cost Assessment Program Evaluation (CAPE) Office. Mr. Germony leads CAPE’s efforts to improve access to data science tools and methods for DoD’s cost community, is heavily involved in the policy development and execution of cost data collection efforts, and is the lead for Operations & Support (O&S) data transformation in support of CAPE’s Enterprise Visibility and Management of Operating and Support Costs (EVAMOSC) system. Mr. Germony has a Masters in Cost Estimating and Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Adam James is a Subject Matter Expert at Technomics, Inc., where he serves as a strategic leader for data analytics and data science. In this role, Adam provides his expertise to develop modern, innovative solutions to address new – and old – cost estimating and analysis problems. Adam received the International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association’s (ICEAA) 2016 Technical Achievement Award. He also has been active in contributing to the community knowledge base, winning best paper in both the “Analysis & Modeling, Machine Learning” and “Methods, Data Collection & Management” categories at the ICEAA Workshop in 2019.