Overview of MSA Needs for Homeland Security

Published

July 29, 2009

Author(s)

Charles R. McLean, Sanjay Jain, Yung-Tsun Lee

Abstract

A number of modeling, simulation and analysis (MSA) efforts have evolved to support homeland security initiatives. Various organizations involved in homeland security related work have realized the value of MSA and have funded development for their identified needs. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has recognized the need for a coordinated approach to MSA to reduce the potential for overlapping efforts and help ensure that developed models are interoperable and reusable. This paper presents a comprehensive view of needs for MSA to support homeland security efforts. The needs are described using two orthogonal dimensions, namely, application types and application domains. Four major application types are discussed that include analysis and decision support, systems engineering and acquisition, planning and operations, and training, exercises, and performance measurement. The application domains are classified in seven major categories that include social behavior, physical phenomena, environment, economy, organization, critical infrastructure, and other system, equipment, and tool. Needs are identified for multiple subcategories under each domain that can be met through the use of MSA applications. For example, needs are defined for crowd, traffic, epidemics, and consumer behavior under the social behavior domain. Social behaviors of the affected population would have a large influence on the impact of an incident. The dynamics of the crowd and traffic in the affected area need to be modeled to understand aspects of the immediate impact in some incidents, while social behavior over longer time frames would need to be modeled for epidemics and incidents resulting in commodity shortages. The defined needs for each subcategory can serve as a platform for developing detailed requirements for MSA solutions. The discussions also refer to the need for guidelines, policies, and procedures for development, verification, and validation, and use of MSA for homeland security applications.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference (iitsec.org)

Conference Dates

November 30-December 3, 2009

Conference Location

Orlando, FL, US

Pub Type

Conferences

Keywords

modeling, simulation, homeland security

Citation

McLean, C. , Jain, S. and Lee, Y. (2009), Overview of MSA Needs for Homeland Security, Proceedings of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference (iitsec.org), Orlando, FL, US (Accessed December 26, 2024)