Financial Management Information Systems Development

The Financial Management Information Systems Development program, designated as PE 0901538F in the Air Force's Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) budget, is focused on advancing the Department of the Air Force's (DAF) financial management and cost analysis capabilities. The primary objective of this program is to develop and upgrade existing financial management systems, specifically targeting improvements in cost estimating datasets, methods, and analytical tools. These enhancements are intended to increase the efficiency, accuracy, and timeliness of financial management processes. This supports better program planning, execution, and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.

Within this program element, the principal line item is Cost Estimating Modeling (CEM). The CEM project is designed to enhance cost estimating capabilities across the Air Force and Space Force by developing and maintaining current cost datasets, advanced estimating methods, and analytical tools. The CEM initiative also addresses data architecture and structure improvements, as well as gap-filling studies to ensure that cost analysts have access to comprehensive and reliable data for a wide range of weapon system types, including aircraft, missiles, munitions, space systems, and automated information systems.

A key component of the CEM effort is its collaboration with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Cost Assessment Data Enterprise (CADE) project. CADE serves as the Department of Defense's unified information system for collecting, organizing, and utilizing contractor and acquisition data. By integrating CEM products with CADE, the program aims to improve the quality and credibility of acquisition program cost estimates. This directly supports DAF and DoD acquisition decisions, programming, and execution, as well as meeting Congressional mandates for transparency and accountability in defense spending.

The CEM project conducts a variety of knowledge-based studies, including the organization and analysis of historical cost, schedule, and technical data. These studies are used to develop new cost estimating relationships (CERs), schedule estimating relationships (SERs), and technical estimating relationships (TERs) that reflect evolving technologies and acquisition practices. The project also develops machine learning-curated datasets and integrates these into standardized structures as part of the Cost Analysis Data Operating Model, in alignment with the SAF/FM Strategic Plan.

Specific accomplishments include updating datasets for aircraft systems engineering, program management, and missile/munitions cost tools. The project has developed satellite sizing relationships that account for commercial technology trends and collected data on resilient ground systems to inform cost modeling. Process improvements in data design and visualization tools have been implemented in partnership with the OSD CADE team, and finalized products have been integrated into the CADE repository for use by the broader DoD cost analysis community.

Planned objectives for FY 2025 and FY 2026 include continued development of curated datasets, prototyping data scraping and visualization applications using large-language models, updating contract cost growth datasets, and integrating additional historical program data into CADE. The program will also prioritize capability gaps for future development and migrate existing CEM tools to enterprise solutions where appropriate. Regular reviews with technical and cost teams, as well as with contractors and the government cost community, ensure ongoing alignment with program goals and responsiveness to emerging requirements.

The Financial Management Information Systems Development program is structured to support compliance with a range of statutory and policy directives, including Title 10 U.S.C., DoD Instructions (DoDI 5000 series), National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA), and the Weapon System Acquisition Reform Act (WSARA). The program's acquisition strategy employs a mix of contract types and is managed through full and open competition in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) guidelines. This program element is critical to ensuring the DAF's ability to deliver credible, high-quality cost estimates that inform warfighter capability investments.