2024 Professional Development & Training Workshop

ICEAA’s annual Professional Development & Training Workshop brings together professionals from government, industry and academic cost communities for an intensive 3-day program dedicated to developing the understanding and appreciation of using data-driven estimating and analysis techniques.

Sponsors Schedule Breakout Sessions   Presenter Bios

OEM Forum & Networking Event  ICEAA Cost Challenge

Register online today!

The deadline for submitting abstracts for the 2024 ICEAA Workshop was November 1, 2023. Abstracts may still be submitted, however, they will be placed on the wait list for consideration once space becomes available: https://www.iceaaonline.com/min24cfp/

Sponsoring

ICEAA’s 2024 Professional Development & Training Workshop exhibit hall will be open for over 30 hours, with 8 hours on the Workshop schedule dedicated for attendees to visit our exhibitors. The limited number of available booths allows for a focused, consultative environment in which you can meet with current and future clients. Tuesday and Wednesday’s evening receptions, as well as food buffets and beverage breaks, will be served in the exhibit hall among the booths, providing ample time to develop leads. The exhibit hall is located in the same room as the general sessions, and adjacent to breakout session rooms.

All exhibiting packages include:

• 8’ x 10‘ booth in exhibit hall with complimentary electrical line
• Pipe & drape, 6’ table, 2 chairs, wastebasket, janitorial services
• Listing in printed program, website, mobile app, and onsite signage
• Two complimentary full conference registrations

Download the 2024 Sponsoring & Exhibiting prospectus for details on available sponsoring opportunities. Contact Megan Jones for questions or more information.

Join our Growing List of Sponsors & Exhibitors

Hotel

Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot
225 3rd Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 USA
1-612-375-1700

ICEAA does not have a relationship with any group accommodation providers, travel agents, or other third-party reservation services. You will not be contacted by anyone involved with the ICEAA workshop to make your reservation or to encourage you to do so. If you are unsure if a correspondence you have received regarding the Workshop is valid, please contact us at iceaa@iceaaonline.org

Book your room at The Depot by April 10, 2024 to take advantage of the ICEAA block rate of $209 per night: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1689697098319&key=GRP&app=resvlink

Employees of federal, state, or local governments of any country may take advantage of the limited number of rooms ICEAA has reserved at the 2024 government per diem rate of $148 per night. Guests unable to provide proof of direct government employment upon check-in will have their fee corrected to the ICEAA block rate: https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1689697481366&key=GRP

Should you have difficulty making your reservation, or if one or more of the nights desired are not available at the desired rate, please contact the hotel directly at 1-612-375-1700.

2024 Workshop Registration Rates

Register online today!

Attendees of the ICEAA Professional Development & Training Workshop will have access to four hours of thought-provoking presentations in general sessions and 36 hours of concurrent breakout training and professional papers presentations.  Individuals are free to determine their own schedule and do not need to indicate in advance which sessions or tracks they plan to attend.  View the outline schedule for overall times and duration.

Registration fee includes breakfast and lunch for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Evening networking receptions on Tuesday and Wednesday will feature light hors d’oeuvres but dinner is not served.

*Attendees who register at a non-member rate will receive a coupon code after the conclusion of the Workshop to use for a complimentary year of ICEAA membership. Attendees will be instructed how to log into their ICEAA profiles to activate their free membership; the membership will not be automatically applied to your account.

Workshop Registration Cancellation Policy:

Refund requests made before April 1, 2024: Full refund, less a $100 administrative fee.
Refund requests made April 2-May 3, 2024: 50% refund.
On or after May 4, 2024: No refund.

Substitutions can be made at any time. Email iceaa@iceaaonline.org to transfer your registration.

2024 Outline Schedule

Attending the ICEAA Professional Development & Training Workshop earns a minimum of 2 points towards CCEA recertification. Additional points can be claimed for individual sessions attended by completing a form after the Workshop.

Tuesday, May 14 all times subject to change

Breakfast buffet available • 7:00 – 8:00
Best Paper Awards & Keynote Presentation • 8:00 – 9:30
Papers • 9:45 – 11:45
Lunch • 11:45 – 12:45
Training/Papers • 12:45 – 4:45
Welcome Reception • 4:45 – 7:00

Wednesday, May 15

Breakfast buffet available • 7:00 – 8:00
Association Awards & Keynote Presentation • 8:00 – 9:45
Training/Papers • 10:15 – 12:00
Lunch • 12:00 – 1:15
Training/Papers • 1:15 – 5:15
Attendee Reception • 5:15 – 7:00

Thursday, May 16

Breakfast buffet available • 7:00 – 8:00
Best Paper General Session • 8:00 – 9:00
Training/Papers • 9:15 – 12:00
Lunch • 12:00 – 1:15
Training/Papers • 1:15 – 3:15
Closing General Session  • 3:30 – 4:15

ICEAA OEM Forum & Networking Event
Monday, May 13, 2024  |  3:00-5:00pm

ICEAA’s OEM COG was formed to identify, acknowledge, and address the challenges ICEAA members employed by Original Equipment Manufacturers face that differ from those employed by the government or other private sector organizations. The OEM COG is proud to return for the second annual OEM Forum & Networking Event, Monday, May 13, 2024 at the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot.

Join us for two hours of panel discussions, presentations, and networking from representatives from BAE Systems, The Boeing Company, HII, L3 Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies, and more. The open forum will allow for questions of our panelists and time for individual discussions before the group hits the town for some social networking.

Outline Schedule:
3:00-3:30  –  Opening remarks and introductions
3:30-4:15   –  Presentation
4:15-5:00  –  Small-group discussions on various topics including (but not limited to) digital engineering, talent acquisition & retention, DCAA concerns, COVID costs, subcontractor/prime issues, and more.

Attendees of the 2024 ICEAA Professional Development & Training Workshop are welcome to attend, whether employed by an OEM or elsewhere in the community.  RSVP for the OEM Forum and Networking Event when you register for the 2024 ICEAA Workshop.

2024 ICEAA Cost Challenge

Teams competing in the ICEAA Cost Challenge will have the opportunity to showcase their data analytical and storytelling skills in a supportive environment that encourages taking some risks and trying new approaches! Our judges will focus on the reasonable assumptions, methodology and approach to their analysis, and the team’s ability to produce thorough, communicable estimates. Teams will send their materials in advance and then give a live presentation to our judges on Wednesday, May 17 that include:

• • Team composition
  • Planning and research
  • Data sources
  • Approaches to data gathering
  • Ground rules & assumptions
  • Normalization techniques
  • Analysis of any economic trends
  • Any uncertainty or risks associated with their estimate
  • Analytical models

A maximum of six teams will be comprised of 3-5 junior estimators (5 or fewer years of experience) and one optional mentor that may provide guidance and support but not actively participate in the project.

Learn more and register your team at https://www.iceaaonline.com/costchallenge

2024 Best Papers

2024 Best Paper: Analytical Methods Category -and- Best Paper Overall
Market Dimensional Expansion, Collapse, Costs, and Viability
Analytical Methods Track (ANM07)
Douglas K. Howarth
Most government programs set out with cost caps and minimum force requirements. Commercial projects usually begin with a budget, sales targets, and specifications. All too often, in both cases, producers and customers give little thought to the changing market structures they face. When it comes to Demand, markets self-organize to form up to four boundaries each, including 1) Upper (price-limited), 2) Outer (saturation-limited), 3) Inner (efficiency-limited), and 4) Lower (margin-limited) Demand Frontiers. When new market segments appear as different product forms with enhanced functionality over existing options, as the new markets grow, the product groupings they replace may contract across one or more Demand Frontiers. This paper examines preparing for these inevitable eventualities in an N-dimensional framework.
ANM07-Howarth-Market-Dimensional-Expansion-Paper
ANM07-Howarth-Market-Dimensional-Expansion-PPT

*2024 Best Paper: Data Science & Machine Learning Category
Maximizing Analysis of Minimalized Datasets
Data Science & Machine Learning Track (DML02)
Taylor Fountain
Obai Kamara
Many techniques exist to determine parametric relationships within large datasets. While cost estimation relies heavily on identifying such relationships, a data-scarce environment, driven by factors such as vendor proprietary restrictions, security concerns, and the uncertainty of emergent technologies, is a common barrier in implementing these techniques. This topic will evaluate common methods to analyze minimalized datasets for developing defendable cost estimates, such as complexity factors and 3-point distribution fitting, and demonstrate the statistical impacts of their underlying assumptions.
DML02-Fountain-Maximizing-Analysis-Minimalized-Datasets-Paper <
DML02-Fountain-Maximizing-Analysis-Minimalized-Datasets-PPT/p>

*2024 Best Paper: Management, Risk & EVM Category
Advanced EVM Analysis using Time Series Forecasts
Management, EVM & Risk Track (MER06)
Anna B. Peters
Mark W. Hodgins
The recent digitization of contractor EVM data affords cost analysts a newfound ability to execute robust statistical and data science techniques that better predict total project cost and schedule realism. Time series analysis, a well-established method in private sector finance, is one such method. Auto regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models may capture the persistence and patterns in EVM data, as measured by CPI, SPI, and schedule execution metrics (SEMs). As a second option, macroeconomic regression models can measure the relationship between contract performance and external considerations, like unemployment and inflation, over time. Both techniques, moreover, may forecast future changes in EVM variables interest, like IEAC. This presentation will discuss how these types of time series models and forecasts are employed on real acquisition programs and their associated IPMDAR data using Python based tools to raise program analysts’ alertness to emergent acquisition risks and opportunities.
MER06-Peters-Advanced-EVM-Time-Series-Forecasts-Paper
MER06-Peters-Advanced-EVM-Time-Series-Forecasts-PPT

*2024 Best Paper: Modeling Category
The Nuclear Option: Avoiding Critical Delays with Advanced Constraints Analysis
Modeling Track (MOD09)
Hannah Hoag Lee
NNSA construction projects are often subject to funding constraints. The ripple effect of funding shortfalls can be severe; projects are forced into suboptimal execution profiles that produce costly schedule slips with drastic mission implications. This experience is not unique to NNSA construction projects. Funding constraints occur in most government sectors, negatively impacting many types of projects’ progression, schedule, and mission. However, since inadequate funding is often unavoidable, it is imperative to use a data-driven methodology to predict schedule deviations and calculate ideal cost phasing to mitigate additional or unanticipated implications on project timeline. This paper demonstrates how a constrained phasing model uses historic project cost and schedule data to estimate a new project timeline based on a constrained funding profile. It also reveals how the model re-phases costs for the remainder of the project duration to generate a viable execution plan.
MOD09-Lee-The-Nuclear-Option-Paper
MOD09-Lee-The-Nuclear-Option-PPT

*2024 Best Paper: Soft Skills & Strategy Category
ChatGPT: Friend or Foe – Meet Your New EN SME
Soft Skills & Trending Topics (SST07)
Patrick Casey
ChatGPT Friend or Foe is an insightful exploration into the capabilities and nuances of ChatGPT. Delving deep into the genesis of this AI model the presentation tracks its evolution from inception by OpenAI to its fourth iteration. Patrick Casey, a Senior Cost Analyst at Quantech Services, candidly shares his experiences with the tool, highlighting its transformative power in various use cases for cost analysts ranging from WBS considerations to innovative recipe creations. While celebrating its prowess the presentation does not shy away from addressing its limitations and security concerns, urging a cautious approach. As a grand finale, attendees are treated to an entirely AI-generated TV commercial. This engaging journey demystifies ChatGPT offering both appreciation and critical insight into this modern marvel. Beyond mere technology the presentation invites audiences to consider the impact of AI in our lives challenging us to harness its potential responsibly.
SST07-Casey-ChatGPT-Friend-Foe-Paper
SST07-Casey-ChatGPT-Friend-Foe-PPT