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Signal Processing—Quantitative Assessment Tool DGI has developed a Quantitative Assessment Tool (QAT), which facilitates choosing between several alternative decisions, as with acquisition or investment decisions, by comparing each alternative’s effectiveness to its cost. The tool quantifies the cost-effectiveness of alternative investments in meeting requirements. Benefits of QAT are that it is mathematically rigorous; it is traceable and auditable and enables the efficient use of resources. Implementation of QAT involves calculation of two measures for each alternative: effectiveness and cost. The "effectiveness measure," which is unconstrained by cost, is calculated using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a well-established multi-objective decision-making methodology that is mathematically rigorous, yet intuitive and traceable. AHP employs natural human thought processes; allows the use of objective data, subjective data, or combination of both; tolerates inconsistencies in data and judgments; and quantifies amount of inconsistency. The "effectiveness measure" is dependent on the decision at hand, but generally can be defined as a measure that comprises multiple objectives in meeting given requirements (i.e., the safest, most reliable, fastest, etc.). Resulting effectiveness scores are expressed as a percentage—for example, Alternative A is 87% effective, but Alternative B is only 74% effective. The "cost measure" is defined to be the net present value (NPV) costs of all life cycle phases, or the life cycle cost (LCC), of the alternative. The effectiveness and cost measures are used to calculate both cost-effectiveness ratios and cost-effectiveness curves. The cost-effectiveness ratio is defined as:  This cost-effectiveness ratio score for each alternative can be used to support acquisition decisions by determining which alternative provides the greatest gain of effectiveness for the least cost. A patent application for QAT has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. |
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