Blogs

2019 year marks the 150^th anniversary of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements. The Periodic table was one of the most significant achievements, not only capturing the essence of chemistry, but also physics and biology.

QinetiQ has had a long relationship with the Periodic table, for example using the properties of chemicals found in the third and fifth columns of the periodic table to form indium antimonide (InSb) to successfully build ‘quantum well’ transistors with lower power consumption compared to traditional transistors. As a result, quantum well transistors are widely used in diode lasers, including red lasers for DVDs and laser pointers, infra-red lasers in fibre optic transmitters, or in blue lasers. QinetiQ’s heritage covers the pioneering research of many household technologies including liquid crystal displays (LCDs), carbon fibre, the technology for flat panel speakers and infra-red sensors.

To celebrate this 150^th year anniversary, QinetiQ Advisory Services (QAS) has used the same iconic table to group Cost Drivers with the same characteristics. Starting from the left: global, hardware, software, information technology (IT) and operating & support (O&S) characteristics that should influence your cost modelling.

These cost drivers are the fundamental elements that should influence a validated and verified (V&V) cost model, thus ensuring that your cost forecasts are linked to the features of the project, product or service that you are estimating.