Automating the constraining process

The typical approach to finding minimum levels of resources that still allow support and operational performance goals to be met for military aircraft is based on a manual trial-and-error method. This is because the function to be minimized (total manpower levels) is an input, and constraints (in terms of support and operational goals) are outputs. An approach with algorithms for automating this optimization, called constraining, is presented, based on dividing the range of total manpower into partitions and then searching for the lowest partition that still returns a manpower allocation that meets the performance goals. A tool, which was developed implementing this approach, is also discussed and results are presented. The conclusion is that while analysts are surprisingly good at finding minimum levels of resources, an automated approach produces acceptable results which are also reproducible and reduce analyst workload.