Guidelines Primarily Associated with Quantification of Cost and Benefits.

DOE-DP-STD-3023-98

statements should be referred to frequently when preparing and presenting the

results of the RBP process.

b. Documentation to Promote Communication. Reporting and interpreting the results

should involve the open, two-way exchange of information between professionals,

including both policy makers and " xperts"in relevant disciplines, and, as

appropriate, other stakeholders. To maximize understanding, RBP reporting

should:

1. Present results in terms of the decision option specified by the end user.

2. Explain the basis and limitations for significant assumptions, input data, and

inferences used or relied upon in the assessment.

3. Describe the sources and magnitude of significant uncertainties.

4. Describe the implications of the sensitivity analysis.

5. Provide traceability to relevant supporting documents.

6. Provide a reasonable opportunity for end user comments and a mechanism for

incorporating such comments into the final report.

7. Explain enough of the process to permit an understanding of the data by

management.

Standardizing the format and content of this information can help the end user

assimilate this information and compare results of several RBP efforts (i.e.,

multiple DOE sites).

9.8 Guidelines Primarily Associated with Quantification of Cost and Benefits.

9.8.1

Guideline 8.1-- Units of Value. Unless there are reasons to the contrary, the scaling

functions and aggregation equation should express value in dollars. When dollars are

not used, the substitute should allow for an explicit and objective expression of the

tradeoffs between objectives and should be geared to the particular audience.

Discussion. As discussed elsewhere in this standard, RBP systems usually generate

a composite value for each decision option that indicates the net effect of

implementing that decision option. Note, in MAUT, this composite measure is termed

the " tility." The composite value represents a combination of associated costs and

benefits; accordingly, all costs and benefits need to be expressed in a common unit of

measurement. Typically, costs and benefits are monetized (i.e., the common unit of

measurement is dollars). However, this standard recognizes that it is difficult to

monetize certain types of costs and benefits. The most important aspect of assessing

the composite value is that the tradeoffs be explicit, not that they be monetized. The

standard encourages monetization since it is a key concept of the implementing

guidance for Executive Order 12866. When deciding on whether to monetize certain

units of value in an RBP system, the following points should be considered:

a. It may not be necessary to monetize costs and benefits if the RBP system is

such that monetization would not alter any resulting decisions.