System Operability: Concept and Measurement in Test and Evaluation

Abstract

In conducting adequate system evaluation, as in the related area of program evaluation, there are four major methodological issues that must be successfully resolved. These issues are conceptualization, i.e., the classification procedures for subdividing subject matter; measurement, i.e., the process of developing and employing operational definitions of constructs; design, i.e., systematic data collection; and, finally, interpretability, i.e., how the results fulfill the purpose of the evaluation. Mission Operability Assessment Technique (MOAT) is a tool for system evaluation which incorporates these four issues within its structure. This paper emphasises how MOAT can be used to conceptualize and measure problems encountered in system evaluation. Specific examples include how MOAT will be used on the F-18 fighter aircraft to provide indices of man-system compatibility across a mission profile.