Parametric formula or cost estimating relationships using an Excel-like formula to create expressions such as ( 0.1 * engineering_effort ) or ( number_of_drawings * effort_per_drawing ) or ( 0.02 * purchased_material ). The words or fields in each expression are parameters which are set up as master data. There are two types of parameters:

• Parameters with fixed preset values by company, proposal, WBS, resource, item or fiscal year
• Parameters which are calculated based on the result of some other estimates or base parameters

Some formula can depend on or include parameters or relationships from other formulae. To ensure that these co-dependent formula are computed in the proper sequence a rank is available, with lower ranked formulae processed first.

Always set rank = 0 for formula which do not depend on the results of any other formula, set rank = 1 for formula which only depend on unranked or rank 0 formula, and rank = 2 for other formula.

To create, view or edit your formula go to Master data > Formula

You will see a list of formula defined in your system. You can:

1. Create a new formula using the + button
2. Delete an existing formula using the x button. Note, any places where this formula has been used will stop working so do not delete a formula which is in use
3. Sort or filter on any of the columns or change the columns, to search for your formula
4. Click on the test icon to test or view the formula result
5. Click on the pencil or double-click the row to edit the formula details

Once you open a specific formula you can edit the description, expression and test-values for parameters used in that formula:

1. Describe your formula in as much detail as necessary. If the formula is specific to a business unit or group then include the business unit or group name in the description. Bear in mind you will only see the first few words of the description when searching for the formula in your estimating application
2. The formula ID or code is automatically generated for you, but you can also change it. Only use numbers and letters, hyphen and underscore and make sure both the text and the ID or code is unique
3. Formula can calculate a direct cost such as labor or another direct cost, or calculate an indirect cost such as fringe, overhead or G&A burden costs. The same formula cannot be used for both direct and indirect costs. If your formula is for fringe, overhead or G&A select both the indirect cost type and optionally select a burden or indirect cost element below. The indirect cost element is used if you want to report on your proposal P&L with indirect costs being accrued to indirect or burden cost elements
4. The formula result might be an effort (e.g. a labor formula) or a cost (e.g. an other direct cost or an indirect cost formula). It is important to select the correct result output based on the parameters you have chosen in your expression
   • For example if your formula is "2% x software_engineering effort" then the result is clearly a duration or effort
   • Conversely if your formula is "fringe_rate x direct_costs" then the result is clearly a cost
   • Only result outputs for duration/effort and amount with currency are supported at this time. Formula which calculate a quantity with an associated unit of measure may be added as a future enhancement
5. The expression is the heart of your formula and denotes what effort or cost will be calculated. To select a field or parameter within your formula press the = key and choose the correct field from the list of parameters. Otherwise type your expression as you would in Excel. There is no need to put or leave an = sign at the start of the formula. Note that:
   • Any parameters or fields you select will be surrounded by ${ ... } field indicators. Do not delete these or edit the parameter names
   • Only basic math operators like + - / * ( and ) are supported at this time. More operators can be added on demand
   • Enter % parameters as a number e.g. 0.15 for 15%
6. The parameters which you selected in your formula expression are automatically listed in the table below. Here you can see what type of parameter this is, for example is it a company-wide parameter or an automatically calculated base parameter. Also you can see if it is a duration/effort, a cost or amount with currency, or a number. Numbers and percentage parameters do not influence the result output in point (4) above
   • Enter any test values in the test value column of the parameter list to test your formula. These values are saved but they are not used when evaluating the formula within an estimate or when generating the cost model
7. The formula result or the result of swapping parameters in the expression (5) with their test values (6) is displayed
8. You can add a comment on any parameter or click the pencil to view how each parameter is setup.