Measuring the Adaptability of Systems of Systems

摘要

Our society is increasingly reliant on systems and interoperating collections of systems, known as systems of systems (SoS). Our national security is built on SoS, such as Army brigades, airport security, and nuclear weapons security. These SoS are often subject to changing budgets, changing missions (e.g., nation building, arms-control treaties), changing threats (e.g., asymmetric warfare, terrorism, WMDs), and changing natural environments (e.g., climate, weather, natural disasters). Can vital SoS adapt to these changing landscapes effectively and efficiently? This paper describes research at Sandia National Laboratories to develop metrics for measuring the adaptability of SoS. We report that we could not find a single or absolute adaptability metric, in large part due to lack of general objectives or structures of SoS. However, we do report a set of metrics that can be applied relatively, plus a method for combining the metrics into an adaptability index, a single value that can be used to compare SoS designs. We show in a test case that these metrics can distinguish good and poor performance under a variable mission space and an uncertain threat environment. The metrics are intended to support a long-range goal of creating an analytic capability to assist in the design and operation of adaptable systems and SoS.