Methods, systems and computer program products to measure the adaptability of complex systems, including systems of systems, are disclosed. The methods, systems and computer program products provide rigor and defensibility to the analysis and assessment of adaptability. As a result, systems can be designed or acquired that are intrinsically more adaptable and better able to respond to changing environments.
Please help me write a proper abstract based on the patent claims. CLAIM: 1. A method for assessing system adaptability, comprising: a) define a problem having a design and a scenario; b) choose one or more metrics; c) select one or more measures for the one or more chosen metrics; d) evaluate the one or more measures for the design and scenario; e) redefine design; f) repeat steps a through e to create one or more designs; g) compare the one or more designs; and h) select a final design from the one or more designs for recommendation. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the one or more designs comprises creating an adaptability index form the selected for the one or more designs. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more metrics is selected from a group consisting essentially of mobility, logistics capability, modifiability, modularity, diversity, substitutability, storage, integratability, self-organizing ability, scalability, complexity, system redundancy, overdesign, repairability, and durability. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is modifiability and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of number of changes to a system, number of changes in system types, average time it takes to replace a system, and number of possible system changes. 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is modularity and the selected measure is measured by the number of different systems in the system. 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is modularity and the selected measure is measured by breaking a system of systems into different functional collections and determining an average number of system types per functional collection. 7. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is diversity and diversity measure is calculated by the following formula: diversity_measure = 1 N FC  ∑ m = 1 N FC  N sys   _   types m 1 + ∑ k = 2 N sys   _   types m  ( frac k , m - frac k - 1 , m ) . 8. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is substitutability and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of quantity of replacement parts, consumables and systems kept on hand. 9. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is storage and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of fraction of spare parts or consumables stored, the average inventory of spare parts or consumables, the ratio of the usage rate of spare parts or consumables to the storage capacity for them, and the storage utilization. 10. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is integratability and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of a degree of standardization, the amount of change needed to a system, and the ability for resources to switch from one type of system to another or to add or subtract systems. 11. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is self-organizing ability and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of the degree of hierarchy or decentralization, the number of strategies that the system uses to respond to needs are a reflection of the ability to self-organize, and the average strength ratio. 12. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is scalability and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of overhead change and efficiency change per unit as the number of units increases. 13. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is complexity and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of nodes, number of connections, number of connections per node, number of dependents, and path length. 14. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is system redundancy and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of the fraction of systems that are redundant or that have backups and possible substitutes. 15. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is overdesign and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of the amount of excess capacity and the average time that the overall system goes without change. 16. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is repairability and the selected measure is the mean time to repair. 17. The method of claim 3, wherein the adaptability metric is durability and the selected measure is selected from a group consisting essentially of system lifetime, mean time between failures, and mean downtime. 18. A system comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with programming for interactively analyzing system adaptability, the non-transitory computer readable medium with programming configured to: a) receive input data that defines a problem having a design and a scenario; b) choose one or more metrics; c) select one or more measures for the one or more chosen metrics; d) evaluate measures for the design and scenario e) receive redefined design input data; f) repeating steps a through e to create evaluation measures for one or more designs. 19. The system of claim 18, wherein evaluating measures comprises creating an adaptability index form the selected measures. 20. The system of claim 18, wherein the one or more metrics is selected from a group consisting essentially of mobility, logistics capability, modifiability, modularity, diversity, substitutability, storage, integratability, self-organizing ability, scalability, complexity, system redundancy, overdesign, repairability, and durability. 21. A computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium, wherein executed by a process, the computer program product is configured to: a) receive input data that defines a problem having a design and a scenario; b) choose one or more metrics; c) select one or more measures for the one or more chosen metrics; d) evaluate measures for the design and scenario e) receive redefined design input data; f) repeating steps a through e to create evaluation measures for one or more designs. 22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein evaluating measures comprises creating an adaptability index form the selected measures. 23. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the one or more metrics is selected from a group consisting essentially of mobility, logistics capability, modifiability, modularity, diversity, substitutability, storage, integratability, self-organizing ability, scalability, complexity, system redundancy, overdesign, repairability, and durability.