ABSTRACTJCS Pub 1 defines interoperability as “The ability of systems, units or forces to provide services to and accept services from other systems, units or forces and to use the services so exchanged to enable them to operate effectively together.” With JCS Pub 1 as a foundation, interoperability of systems, units or forces can be factored into a set of components that can quantify interoperability. These components are: media, languages, standards, requirements, environment, procedures, and human factors. The concept described in this paper uses these components as an analysis tool to enable specific detailed analyses of the interoperability of BFC3 systems, units, or forces for the purpose of uncovering and resolving interoperability issues and problems in the U.S. Navy, Joint, and Allied arenas. Also, as a management tool, the components can help determine potential interoperability characteristics of future U.S. Navy BFC3 systems for compliance with battle force systems architectures.The approach selected for the quantification of interoperability was the development of a set of measures of performance (MOPs) and measures of effectiveness (MOEs). The MOPs/MOEs were integrated with a candidate set of components, which were used to partition the totality of interoperability into measurable entities.The methodology described employs basic truth table theory in conjunction with logic equations to evaluate the interoperability components in terms of MOPs that were aggregated to MOEs. It is believed that this concept, although elementary and based on fundamental principles, represents an operationally significant approach rather than a theoretical approach to the quantification of interoperability.The vehicle used as a means to measure the MOPs and MOEs was the Research Evaluation and Systems Analysis (RESA) computer modeling and simulation capability at the Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC), San Diego, Calif. Data for the measurements were collected during a Tactical Information Management Exercise (TIMEX) in August 1987. The data consisted of printouts from computer data bases plus data collected by human observers.It is hypothesized that subsequent repeated exercises will yield a sufficient number of meaningful measurements. These measurements may lead to the development of frequency distribution curves representing the degree to which each interoperability component was achieved. These curves will in turn be used to derive some probability function [P(I)] that empirically describes the degree of interoperability that could be achieved. The benefit of this approach is that complex interoperability problems can be partitioned into a smaller subset of problems that can be more easily managed and/or resolved. Also it provides the potential means to obtain a probabilistic measure of how often, operationally, a desired level of interoperability could be achieved.