Steps Toward Improved Analysis for Network Mission Assurance

The DoD focus on Joint network-enabled operations promises benefits in terms of improved force agility and effectiveness; however, the greater dependence on network capability makes it imperative that DoD decision makers understand the impact of such capabilities on mission success. This paper proposes a new analytic approach aimed initially at achieving first-order network mission assurance assessments by modeling aggregate behavior at a low level of resolution. It is based on the premise that risk of mission failure due to degradation of C2 is driven by the degree of dependency on key underlying functions (i.e., information sharing, collaboration, and direction) enabled by the common networks and the ability of these network to support such functions in realistic threat environments. It employs risk functions of different shapes and scales that relate the capability of links among groups of users to risk of failure of mission tasks. This paper describes the applicable problem space, the methodology, and outstanding research challenges.