In prior research, Schaffner et al.

In prior research, Schaffner et al. (2014) developed a composite method for affordability based upon the Responsive Systems Comparison (RSC) method, and applied their approach to the acquisition of a Next Generation Combat Ship (NGCS) for the Navy. RSC is a variant of EEA which leverages TSE as a powerful tool to conduct analysis. Complex system design, and particularly SoS design, involves multiple dimensions of relevant benefits, expenses, and boundary conditions which do not lend themselves to optimization and are often too complex for intuitive decision making. TSE applies the capabilities of modern computing to enumerate a large variety of design alternatives to support a decision maker to holistically investigate subtle tradeoffs and previously unconsidered designs. As a result, RSC may lead a designer to select an acquisition program with superior lifecycle results than those determined by a numerical optimizer operating under simple tradeoffs and rules of thumb (Wu et al., 2014). Building on this prior research, this paper describes the extension of the method to the program and portfolio levels.