| Developing Cost Requirements for Small Nuclear Plants | Dr. Amritpal Agar | Small Modular Reactor (SMR) technology is approaching commercial deployment with major investment decisions anticipated. Both the U.S. and U.K. have committed targets, with the UK aiming for 24 GW of nuclear capacity by 2050, and the DOE supporting SMR initiatives such as the $3 billion Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Globally, nuclear investment aims to triple installed capacity to meet escalating energy needs. Historically, nuclear projects in the West have suffered significant budget overruns, attributed to uncertainties in design, construction, and labor costs. At the front end of programmes, it is important to capture and quantify key cost requirements for successful commercial product development. In this exploratory research, I share a novel approach to gaining consistent and quantifiable cost requirements from technical experts for High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs). Applying the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) method at an early project stage can support clearer decision-making and provides greater confidence in design-for-cost. | 2025 | Analytical Methods |
| Chasm of Archetype: Leveraging Personality Diversity in Cost Estimation | Tyler Duran, Stephen Koellner | Cost estimation is a field requiring mathematical and technical expertise, typically attracting professionals from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics ( STEM) backgrounds. Individuals in these disciplines often display introverted personality traits, which can lead to a limited range of interpersonal dynamics within cost teams. However, collaboration, communication, and other interpersonal skills—often associated with extroverted personalities—are critical to team success and broader project goals. This presentation will explore strategies to harness the strengths of both introverts and extroverts, address challenges related to varying communication styles and offer insights for managing well-rounded teams where diverse personality traits complement each other. | 2025 | Communication & Visualization |
| Use of VBA and Python in Analytical Tools | David Ferland, Ashlen Grote, Michael Giannotti | Data analytics often requires automation and repeatability to be effective and two popular coding languages that accomplish this task are python and Visual Basic (VBA). These methods provide varying levels of processing power, user interface generation, data visualizations, and learning curves, but both have their own downfalls. Using a side-by-side comparison, we step through tutorials and use cases for both languages in basic regression generation and analytical processing. While both languages have an established history in the field of data analytics, we also propose a lesser-known technique of combining the capabilities of both languages into a synergistic method of tool generation. For data analysts or cost engineers who are not familiar with one of the three methods proposed (either language alone or the two used together), we provide the basic building blocks to help you plan your next project and examples to get you on the right track. | 2025 | Data Science |
| Show Me the (Schedule) Metrics | Wendy Cassidy, Michelle Chau | With urgent needs to deliver capabilities to the fleet, program managers must focus on maintaining schedule, delivery dates, and the metrics to track program progress. Analysts can find themselves in a difficult position when vendors have a low or zero likelihood of meeting their baseline with program managers resistant to accept schedule slips. This topic discusses how vendors can be held accountable when schedule baselines are unrealistic, how to generate and manage to more realistic projections, as well as effective methods to communicate to program managers when they say "show me the metrics" and the answer is unfavorable. Specific topics to be explored include critical path and driving path analysis, critical path length index (CPLI), vendor current execution index (CEI) earned schedule metrics and projecting more accurate vendor schedules through schedule risk analysis. | 2025 | Management, EVM & Scheduling |
| Employing AI Agents for Cost Estimation | Brad Clark, David Rampton | Agile's flexibility enables rapid software releases and fosters strong collaboration, but it often lacks rigorous preplanning, making cost tracking and budget alignment challenging. Traditional solutions, like leveraging analogous systems or assigning a preplanning team to develop functional requirements, can be inefficient and costly, compromising Agile's speed. This session introduces a groundbreaking approach using generative AI to assist or automate critical preplanning tasks, such as functional requirement development and function point counting. We'll discuss how this AI-driven solution preserves Agile's speed while enhancing cost estimation accuracy, providing a cost-effective way to address preplanning challenges. Real-world examples will illustrate how generative AI delivers precise cost insights without slowing the development cycle. Attendees will learn strategies for integrating generative AI into Agile workflows, streamlining processes, and achieving budget alignment. | 2025 | Machine Learning & NLP |
