Evaluating a Statistical-Based Assessment Tool for Stratifying Risk among U.S. Air Force Organizations

The Air Force Inspection System is a proponent of utilizing a risk-based sampling strategy (RBSS) for conducting inspections from major command levels down to the unit level. The strategy identifies areas deemed most important or risky by commanders and prioritizes them accordingly for an independent assessment by the Inspector General. While Air Force regulation specifies the need to use a RBSS for inspection, the implementation process is delegated to individual commands and, subsequently, wings. The 23rd Wing, the sponsor for this research, directed us to analyze a RBSS tool highlighted as an example from which to adopt for those units within Air Combat Command, the major command for the 23rd. Our analysis entailed both descriptive and inferential measures. The results identified some potential shortfalls for which solutions were proposed. The recommended measures include using a median-based metric instead of a mean-based metric to score risk for organizations, a 3-point Likert scale to evaluate criteria, as well as a scoring system for dichotomous criteria when mixing with either a 3-, 4-, or 5-point Likert scale criteria