Assessing the Operational Value of Situational Awareness for AEGIS and Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) Platforms Through the Application of the KVA Methodology

Abstract

As the United States Navy strives to attain a myriad of situational awareness systems that provide the functionality and interoperability required for future missions, the fundamental idea of open architecture is beginning to promulgate throughout the Department. In order to make rational, informed decisions concerning the processes and systems that will be integrated to provide this situational awareness, an analytical method must be used to identify process deficiencies and produce quantifiable measurement indicators This thesis will apply the Knowledge Value Added methodology to the current processes involved in track management aboard the AEGIS and Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) platforms. Additional analysis will be conducted based on notional changes that could occur were the systems designed using an open architecture approach. A valuation based on knowledge assets will be presented in order to provide a comparative analysis, detailing how knowledge assets can be leveraged in the most efficient and effective manner.