Decision Analysis Services

A management and technical consultancy operating principally in the defence sector for government and industry. The company provides high value support to clients engaged in the procurement of defence equipment, facilities and services, together with working for a number of major blue-chip commercial companies.

Operational Analysis

Operational analysis, a term most often applied within the defence community, is the process of representing the behaviour of physical assets and human actors within an operating environment. This behaviour is driven by the characteristics and interactions of these elements as well as changes in the environment

The focus of Operational Analysis is to develop models (judgment based, quantitative or hydrid) and use these to enable decision makers to build confidence in the optimal selection of a strategy, investment decision or business improvement initiative.

To deliver models that are fit for purpose requires key skills and experience including:

• An ability to undertake problem structuring and bounding model requirements.
  
  
• Facilitation skills to manage multiple stakeholder needs and views and to be able to synthesise these within the resulting model.
  
  
• A broad toolbox of analytical techniques from which to select the best approach to model development.

DAS staff have proven skills in each of these areas. Indeed they are leading exponents in several of the techniques, including System Dynamics (a particular form of systems based business modelling), cognitive mapping to support problem structuring as well as decision support frameworks such as MCDA.

DAS staff have shown particular success in the development of high level Operational Analysis tools that can be developed rapidly to meet the tempo of the decision makers timelines.

Track Record of Success

DAS staff have considerable experience in developing Operational Analysis solutions within the defence community that covers:

• Balance of investment – prioritising where limited resources should be invested to best meet a portfolio of needs. Examples have included prioritisation of research investments, engineering improvement options as well as strategic advice on business unit products and services.
  
  
• Selection of equipment options – as part of UK defence procurement, programmes must select options based on the Combined Operational Effectiveness and Investment Appraisal (COEIA). DAS staff have developed models and simulations to aid the down selection of options based on system performance.
  
  
• Business improvement – DAS staff have developed a variety of business models to demonstrate the impact of business change programmes.
  
  
• Benefits modelling – DAS staff have developed novel models to represent hard and soft output based metrics for a multi-partner organisation supporting the UK MoD acquisition community.