SEER for Hardware, Electronics & Systems
Estimating Complex Projects

Core Capabilities

Plan, Analyze, and Manage Hardware, Electronics and Systems Development Projects 

Datasheet

View a 4-minute SEER for Hardware, Electronics & Systems Demo

SEER for Hardware, Electronics, & Systems (SEER-H) is a decision-support tool that reliably and accurately estimates the total cost of ownership for new product development projects.

Project Estimating Software - Supports planning efforts throughout the project development lifecycle from project inception to production, including systems level, product development, production, operations, support and disposal costs. 

Project Planning Software - Provides detailed insight into the risks, uncertainty and cost drivers associated with hardware development, acquisition and integration. Electronics.

SEER-H enables project engineers, planners, and managers to determine lifecycle costs and development timetables for hardware projects spanning:

  • Mechanical
  • Electronic
  • Structural
  • Hydraulic

Unlike CAD and EDA tools which focus on designing features and functions, SEER-H focuses on providing an early preview of the effort, cost, time-to-market, staffing, risk and reliability involved in bringing a product to market and maintaining it over time -- a powerful adjunct to traditional project management software applications. Estimates are inclusive of development, production, operations, and support, addressing what is being built (the component, sub-system, system or system of systems), how it must perform, and how and where it will be built. For system-level estimates, SEER for Hardware, Electronics & Systems explicitly addresses the added costs associated with integrating components and subsystems into a coherent, functioning system.

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All SEER solutions are built on the same design principles, incorporating the following application elements:

Interface:

An intuitive interface for defining and describing projects. Users can generate a new project from an existing project “template” or by adding and defining individual work elements. A series of pop-up windows and annotations guide users through the process of defining project scope, complexity, and technologies.

Simulation/Modeling Engine:

Sophisticated sector-specific mathematical models derived from extensive project histories, behavioral models, and metrics.

Knowledge Bases:

SEER Knowledge Bases serve as a virtual “in-house expert,” providing default project definitions, values, ranges, and calibrations based on comparable project histories. Enables users to develop first-look estimates when very little information is known, and to refine those estimates as details become available.

Output:

A variety of charts, graphs, and reports for quickly summarizing and presenting project outcomes and alternatives as well as work-in-progress.

Open architecture and APIs ensure that SEER applications can be easily integrated with departmental productivity solutions and enterprise applications.

Two-stage Project Estimating Approach

The SEER-H solution employs a two-stage approach to project estimating, leveraging similar project histories (industry and/or company-provided) and proven formulaic cost relationships. In the first stage of modeling a project, SEER for Hardware, Electronics & Systems generates an analogy between the current project and a comprehensive database of technical, programmatic, and cost information that is continually reviewed for applicability to current estimating requirements and technology. In the second stage of hardware and electronics modeling, Cost-Estimating Relationships (CERs) are applied to the analogous cost estimate to address company-specific development and production factors.

Project Planning Software for Complex Projects

From a preliminary estimate SEER-H users can optimize their project planning, performing extensive trade-off analyses on various design and production options such as make-buy considerations, alternative materials or labor sources, varying production runs, or different support scenarios. SEER HW is also fully integrated with SEER for Software and SEER for Manufacturing enabling users to develop a “Total System Vision” of complex projects. The results of these analyses can be documented and shared using SEER’s rich reporting capabilities, as well as exported to Microsoft Project and numerous other 3rd-party applications.

Learn about the additional capabilities of SEER for Hardware, Electronics & Systems project management software and how these extended capabilities can further improve your hardware development lifecycle: