Bar-Gain Boxes: An Informative Illustration of the Pairing Problem

Abstract

A practical problem in command and control is to assign assets (e.g., bomber planes) to targets (e.g., hostile sites), one-on-one, in order to optimize an overall operation. The asset-target pairing must be completed quickly (before targets act), and the expected effectiveness of an asset against a target depends on a number of factual and judgmental factors. Here I present a diagram called ”Bar-Gain Boxes” designed to help people solve the problem. The diagram uses a matrix of boxes to illustrate the possible pairings, along with color-coded bars (in each box) to illustrate the gain associated with each individual asset-target pair. The diagram is informative because it displays algorithmic results and underlying reasons, for normative and alternative solutions.