Controlling the Influences of Component Variables
Abstract
In the comparison of military units or systems, many attributes including performance, might be measured. One general approach to determining which system is best involves forming a composite measure of the differentially weighted component measures. It is fairly common practice to control the component means and variances; it is less common, and more difficult, to control component covariances and, thus, to control the contribution of a component to the variance of the composite measure (variable). This paper presents a method leading to a computer procedure for assigning equal or differential influences on the composite by the use of component means, standard deviations, and covariances. In this method covariance terms are allocated equally between each pair of components. Two numerical examples are given herein, one illustrating equal and the other unequal weighting. The technique appears to be both fast and precise.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1972
- Accession Number
- ADA522447
Entities
People
- Richard S. Elster
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School