scope:

This Standard provides a general introduction to the concept of life cycle costing. Although life cycle costs consist of many contributing elements, this Standard particularly highlights the costs associated with dependability elements (reliability, availability, maintainability, and maintenance support) of the product. It explains the purpose and usefulness of life cycle costing and outlines the general approaches involved.

The Standard identifies typical life cycle cost elements to facilitate project and programme planning. It also provides general guidance for conducting and documenting a life cycle cost analysis, including life cycle cost model development.

The Standard is intended for use by both suppliers and users of products.

Adherence to this Standard will

(a) facilitate a consistent and structured approach to life cycle costing analysis;

(b) provide common definitions for the life cycle costing process, thus improving understanding and communication of it; and

(c) ensure a uniform approach to documentation of life cycle costing analysis, thus assisting the decision makers and facilitating comparison between different analyses.

This Standard does not

(a) provide specific criteria for identifying the need for life cycle costing analysis; or

(b) specify detailed life cycle costing methodologies for specific applications.

Note: Life cycle costing analysis is applicable for comparative evaluations even when few data are available. Life cycle costing analysis is also useful in estimating the costs of a product at any time during its life cycle.