Proposed Network Centric Warfare (NCW) metrics: from connectivity to the OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide and Act) cycle

The OR profession has been grappling with the problem of developing metrics to evaluate the contribution of NCW to military operations. Measures such as richness and reach have been introduced and provide a qualitative assessment of NCW approaches. Using these concepts, and the well-established concept of the OODA loop, the authors have attempted to define metrics that can be quantitatively and objectively measured. These provide a departure point for further discussion and, hopefully, further development of quantitative measures of NCW.