cost_effectiveness

This is a work in progress.

The current CPUC CET has a number of technical issues

• It can only process one input at a time
• The same calculations are done over and over in different places
• Unconventional and overengineered approach
• It is difficult to trace data through the equations because the field names change at multiple steps
• Microsoft SQL Server is required to run the database
• ToDo: add others

Those issues impact the data reporting community

• The code is difficult to update; updates are time consuming and error prone
• The logic behind the equations is sprinkled throughout the database tables, views, funtions, and stored procedures
• ToDo: add others

To address those issues, we want to bring the cost effectiveness calculations out of existing CET

• Make the code publicly available and easily accessible
• Version control
• Use the same names

Expected outcomes

• Allow more people to work directly with the calculations
• Allow CEDARS to calculate cost effectiveness internally
• Improved performamce
• New opportunities for program administrators to automate their cost effectiveness calculations

Overall approach

• Database build scripts that create the required data tables
• Calculations in database views