[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

capability to engage targets in the air) generated nine different attributes that were later
reduced to only three.
The attribute Multirole was initially generated with the intent to measure the
adaptability to different types of missions. It was judged to be redundant with the
attribute Scope, which measures the capability to perform missions in different weather
conditions. The analysis showed that the Multirole capability was already being
addressed by the model as a whole and thus, Scope would be more important to measure
for that particular objective.
Another important aspect, during the attributes definition was to choose a metric
for each one of them. Using the attribute A1.1Combat Radius as an example, the metric
chosen was Nautical miles, which is a natural scale of distance commonly used in
aviation.
Next, a range (best and worst levels) needed to be defined. Winterfeldt and
Edwards recommend that the end points of the scale should not only consider the
available alternatives, but also any possible future alternatives. This approach was
considered to be most appropriate to use in this work and thus, the acceptable ranges
were defined, based on the ―objects that one would be willing to consider.‖ 98
Continuing with the previous example, the range of A1.1Combat Radius was
defined based on research to identify aircraft with different levels of this attribute. The
best performance levels were used as a guide to define the top of the range. The bottom
98 Winterfeldt and Edwards, Decision Analysis and Behavioral Research, 230.
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