Learning Curves: A Review,

Abstract

When forecasting or estimating costs, analysts are always looking for logical relationships and patterns. These relationships and patterns help us better understand and estimate costs. One of the most widely applied cases where patterns are used involve production. These cases call for use of learning curves. Learning curve theory states that under certain conditions and due to several reasons, there are patterns in direct costs in a production situation. Several patterns, including the unit, cumulative average, and Cochran's S, have been identified and used in cost analysis. This article discusses the conditions which are necessary for a learning curve pattern to be expected, the reasons for the pattern, and some of the specific patterns that have been noted.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1982
Accession Number
ADP001231

Entities

People

  • Roland D. Kankey

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cost Analysis
  • Costs
  • Delphi Method
  • Department Of Defense
  • Learning
  • Production
  • Virginia

Readers

  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis
  • Neural Network Machine Learning.
  • Regression Analysis.