A new open-source project evaluation tool, entitled the Materials Engineering Tetrahedron (MET), has been developed to determine the economic viability of materials design, selection, processing, and validation costs associated with any infrastructure-based project. MET improves project design by providing an economic perspective to the traditional materials science tetrahedron, relating microstructure, processing, property, and performance through the introduction of value-based economic costs for each side of the tetrahedron. The resulting size and distortion, from a regular tetrahedron illustrates the balance between the system, component, or material fabrication project detailed. The MET model also allows for increased budget efficiency and the potential for improved identification of cost saving mechanisms. The use of financial tools, such MET, will aid engineering project management by providing easy and reliable metrics to compare projected costs versus desired outcomes. Expansion and use of these types of tools will reduce risks during the initial stages of project design. To illustrate the strength of MET, several example tetrahedra were generated demonstrating the various uses and applications of this new program.