Из статьи "The Origins of Effects-Based Operations".

...Beyond this level of analysis, intelligence and planning agencies had to confront the subject of indirect effects, which required *measures of merit*. Although the term was popularized earlier by the total quality movement, the concept was understood in World War II. Essentially, *measures of merit* linked objectives to targets. But the specific type of evidence analysts should examine to determine if targeting strategies were achieving their political goals remained a thorny issue...