In the September issue of Cost Engineering, AACE International president Stephen Revay shared that one of the consistent comments at the 2010 Annual Meeting was regarding the high quality of the presentations as a result of the Technical Board’s reviews of the material and mentorship provided to authors. As part of our strategy to become the premier leader in technical material for our profession, the Technical Board has implemented a review process for each submitted paper/presentation and is now establishing a set of corresponding reviewer qualifications. The goal of creating these qualifications is to improve the quality of papers that are both presented at the Annual Meeting and published in Cost Engineering journal by forming a board of certified publication reviewers. Our Association recognizes that our material must meet the quality expectations at the highest levels within multi-billion dollar companies, and material must be practical enough for individuals to improve their own performance. These reviewers will be the gate keepers of AACE to ensure that all technical publications meet these standards and are in compliance with AACE Recommended Practices, Total Cost Management Framework, and all other published AACE material. AACE is one of very few organizations that has a review process that also provides meaningful feedback to authors.

To become a technical reviewer, individuals must pass a standard qualification test. In the reviewer qualification test, the potential candidate must review three papers from previous conference tracks. The reviewer will complete the Technical Paper Evaluation Criteria (TPEC) spreadsheet and return the original paper with any editorial remarks to the Director of Conference Quality (DOCQ). The editorial comments and the TPEC will be reviewed and evaluated by the DOCQ, who will then arrange a time to discuss the results with the reviewer candidate. This conversation, typically a telephone call, is to evaluate the reviewer’s capability to communicate succinctly and determine whether the candidate will be an appropriate technical reviewer.

To pass the qualification test, differences in the TPEC will be evaluated with the TPEC answer key. If there are too many unresolved differences between the TPEC answer key and the reviewer’s TPEC, then the DOCQ may decline the applicant. If applicant passes, then an offer will be extended to serve as a certified reviewer, and the reviewer will be utilized as long as they maintain their review quality performance. Periodic audits will be provided by the DOCQ to the reviewers to provide feedback and mentoring.

There are three requirements of the reviewer position.

1. Successful completion of the qualification test, as stated previously.
2. Maintain confidentiality. Reviewers may never discuss an author’s material or results of the technical review with anyone other than with the DOCQ or a designated Technical Board member (if the DOCQ thinks it warrants a discussion). Only the DQOC will provide the feedback to the author after reviewing the results of the reviewer’s TPEC. This provides anonymity for the reviewers and allows reviewers to be candid with their remarks.
3. Full participation and quick turnaround. Due to paper submittal dates and conference scheduling, AACE requires a quick review cycle time. When the annual meeting paper cycle hits, typically January – March, reviewers should expect to evaluate up to 7 papers a week. Papers that have issues may require conference calls with the DOCQ and the Technical Board. Therefore, reviewers agree to participate in conference calls or GoToMeeting sessions as necessary.