Guidelines Primarily Associated with Defensibility.

DOE-DP-STD-3023-98

9.6.3

Guideline 6.3-- Cardinal Measure of Preference. The method of aggregating

performance measures should produce a cardinal measure of preference rather than

an ordinal measure of preference, unless it can clearly be demonstrated that the use

of an ordinal measure will not alter or otherwise invalidate the results.

Discussion. Cardinal measures distinguish the benefits on an absolute scale,

specifying the amount by which a given benefit differs from another. Ordinal

measures, however, only distinguish more benefit from less, and allow items to be

ranked, but they do not specify the amount by which something is preferred. For

example, if an aggregated value of " "is assigned to one activity and a value of " "is

assigned to another activity, the second activity is preferred to the first. However, the

conclusion that the second activity produces twice the benefit of the first can only be

drawn if the aggregate measure is a cardinal one.

9.7 Guidelines Primarily Associated with Defensibility.

9.7.1

Guideline 7.1-- Qualification of Participants. Participants in RBP applications should

have demonstrated education, experience, or training to properly perform their

assigned roles.

Discussion. There is little value in completing a prioritization only to have the results

challenged because of unqualified participants. It is important that the participants

have the needed expertise in developing the model, eliciting values, defining decision

objectives, scoring activities, estimating costs, and providing risk estimates. To

minimize challenges of the prioritization results, the qualification of all participants

should be identified and documented.

9.7.2

Guideline 7.2-- Level of Detail. Proposed activities should be clearly defined. The

work to be conducted and the expected consequences of that work should be

described and documented. A sample checklist is presented in Table III.

TABLE III. Checklist for Characterizing Decision Options

Statement of Work

Cost

Schedule

Expected Impact

Uncertainties

Discussion. It is impossible to meaningfully estimate the costs and benefits of

ill-defined activities. Thus, the work to be conducted should be clearly specified prior

to being evaluated in an RBP process. Documentation should include a clear, concise

description of the scope of work, necessary resource requirements, motivations for

conducting the activity, and impacts that the activity is expected to produce.