2 Rationale

 

How the representation was built

The representation proposed here has been built using a ``bottom-up'' process. We used a set of measures of effect used by CHECKMATE in the scenario plan in IFD-4 as well as previous plans developed during the knowledge acquisition process in building INSPECT. We abstracted an initial set of elements and some common patterns in that set, and then refined these by interviewing CHECKMATE experts.

Measures of effect are one slot of the current representation of ACP objectives used in ACPT. It is currently filled by a string. A measure of effect, as the name says, provides a way to measure whether or not (or to what extent) an objective has been achieved. One of the important considerations in developing measures of effect is that they are to be interpreted and operationalized by Intelligence personnel, who are responsible for obtaining the information necessary to actually measure them in the execution of a plan.

Goals

The main goals of the proposed representation are the following:

• To enrich and correct the representation presently used in order to enable automated reasoning (in some degree) about measures of effect.
• To support error checking during the editing of objectives.
• To serve as a focal-point to think about the use of measures of effect of objectives in air campaign planning. For instance, to discuss a representation for measures of effect as proposed here raises several methodological issues which are important even outside the realm of making systems for supporting air campaign planning.