The correct answer is E . IAM’s Anatomy of Asset Management Version 4 explicitly places emphasis on whole-life / whole-cost decision-making, including life cycle cost analysis , disposal, renewal, rationalisation, and other lifecycle considerations. For an outline business case, that means the cost base should include not only purchase or creation costs, but also known and estimated costs across the full asset lifecycle .

That is why the alternatives are weaker. Limiting costs only to what is already known, only to design and creation, or only to supplier quotations would ignore IAM’s lifecycle-value approach. Excluding design costs is also wrong, because lifecycle costing starts before operation and extends through end-of-life.