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The legendary advance of the 20th Maine Regiment[i] "Do It - That's how" – Colonel (later Major General) Joshua Chamberlain Colonel Joshua Chamberlain is best known for the bayonet charge during the Civil War battle of Little Roundtop. Chamberlain ordered this maneuver after several calls for reinforcements and more ammunition. The Confederates were preparing to make a charge up Little Roundtop, and Chamberlain ordered his men to charge first with bayonets since they had no more ammunition. The timing and intensity of the charge rattled the Confederates - they ran and retreated. Many say this was the principle decisive action that led to Union victory at Gettysburg, and eventually the end of the Civil War. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine are the embodiment of navigating through the chaos and what ‘sense and respond’ looks like in a military environment. There are many heroes in this story and many lessons in leadership and the time-critical performance of duties. I will leave it up to the reader to further study Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine. This blog post is a nice start (https://thepurcellchronicles.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-legendary-advance-of-20th-maine.html). We are going to explore what “Sense and Respond” looks like in a business context. How does ‘Sense and Respond’ translate to a business environment? From a recent McKinsey and Company survey, COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions were the top issues on senior executives’ minds[i]. From the Delta variant to events in Afghanistan, uncertainty and the second and third-order effects from these recent events is hard to decipher. Figure 1: The COVID-19 effect on economic conditions | McKinsey. Retrieved August 16, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-coronavirus-effect-on-global-economic-sentiment Forecasting is predicting future events based on past historical events. Usually, we have an ‘event’ that has multiple occurrences over time. An event can be a supply transaction or a medical ICD code. Time series analysis is a common technique for analyzing events and producing a forecast. ‘Sense and Respond’ can be considered a slight paradigm shift or a higher level of analytical maturity than your traditional forecast. We can use various frameworks to explain this – Boyd’s OODA loop[ii], Carnegie Mellon's CMMI maturity model[iii], and causality - Judea Pearl's “The Book of Why.”[iv] For ‘Sense and Respond’ we aren’t blindly chasing the most recent event but rather applying a hybrid statistical-mental model to the most relevant information we have and acting upon that in both a tactical and strategic manner. We make the best decision (act) based on model features and what we know (context). This is a very process-centric approach that requires extensive domain knowledge with continuous feedback for quick, decisive actions. In the ideal organization and environment, we want to do both – forecast as an input into our ‘Sense and Respond’ architecture. We want to be able to predict what will happen at the present moment. However, this is not always the case with military operations, supply chains, or pandemics. Walmart and Amazon are both good examples of an organization that has been able to both forecast and ‘Sense and Respond.’ They’ve been able to accomplish this by developing their own customized enterprise information systems that allow them to reduce information delay and shape the environment that both consumers and producers interact in. A great case study for what happens when companies can’t make the transition from indecision or ‘Wait and See’ to ‘Sense and Respond’ is Lora Cecere’s 2016 Caterpillar Case Study[v]. Below figure from her 2016 LinkedIn post: Figure 2. The Time It Took Fortune 500 Companies to Sense the Market Downturn and Make Changes in the Recession of 2007-2009[vi] For global or more niche supply chains, any disruption in manufacturing has second and third-order effects on quality forecasting. In the case of COVID-19 forecasting models, disparate data, nonstandard practices, and shifting and/or vastly different environments were the enemy to a quality forecast. If we can’t get a quality forecast, we need to shift resources and our strategy to ‘Sense and Respond.’ To make this shift in strategy, we need the collection and fusion of information based on known models of what ‘event’ is happening. We also need scenario planning for what can or might happen next. If this sounds familiar to Boyd’s OODA loop – well…it is. Figure 3. Boyd’s OODA Loop[vii] For supply chains, the pandemic has already forced this shift, but challenges are and will still occur. Again, the Delta variant and recent events in Afghanistan will likely impact some supply chains[viii].[ix] However, mature supply chains have the IT infrastructure in place to ‘Sense and Respond.’ The challenges for mature supply chains are: Identifying the potential scenarios (i.e., Figure 1 COVID19 vs GDP scenarios), and Knowing the trigger points or key indicators for which scenario you will be or currently operating in. For other industries – the data collection methods and IT architectures may not already be in place. The US healthcare system quickly comes to mind; however, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Google, and Apple are making big investments and advances in this space. Technology, Process, and People - You can’t just “Do It - That’s How” without these In conclusion, to use another military strategist, the Chinese General Sun Tzu, leaders must ‘Shape the Battlefield.’ Leaders must envision worse-case scenarios and then develop plans, processes, and courses of action to push these scenarios to their advantage and strategic goals. To effectively do this they must further invest in technologies and IT architectures that allow them to know when a certain scenario is coming to fruition. Today’s environment and a deluge of information also means advanced analytics and machine learning to identify what information is actionable and what information is just noise. They must also effectively train and develop processes for when a given scenario does in fact come to fruition. Processes can include Scenario Planning to Value Stream Mapping depending on the domain. United States Navy aviation and the United States Navy nuclear program are great examples of high-reliability organizations (HROs) that do this today.[x] Lastly, and most importantly, they need the right mix of people that can make, and are empowered to make, the time-critical decisions necessary to ensure success. Little Roundtop was not just Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. As you dig into the battle, several names come up that if they didn’t succeed in their role or make the correct decision – the battle would have been lost. Decision-makers need ‘Sense and Respond’ IT architectures that include analytics capabilities, streamlined, value-centric processes, and highly trained, passionate personnel. Given these tools – they can just “Do It” as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain prescribes. Jerome is a Senior Operations Research Analyst here at CANA. You can contact Jerome at jdixon@canallc.com. (i) Downtowner. (2017, May 24). The Purcell Chronicles: Chamberlain’s 20th Maine Saves the Union at Little Round Top. The Purcell Chronicles. https://thepurcellchronicles.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-legendary-advance-of-20th-maine.html (ii) The COVID-19 effect on economic conditions | McKinsey. (n.d.). Retrieved August 16, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-coronavirus-effect-on-global-economic-sentiment (iii) Grant, Tim, and Bas Kooter. 2005. “Comparing OODA and Other Models as Operational View C2Architecture,” June 13, 2005. (iv) White, Sarah K. 2021. “What Is CMMI? A Model for Optimizing Development Processes.” CIO. June 1, 2021. https://www.cio.com/article/2437864/process-improvement-capability-maturity-model-integration-cmmi-definition-and-solutions.html. (v) “The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect: Pearl, Judea, Mackenzie, Dana: 9780465097609: Amazon.Com: Books.” n.d. Accessed August 12, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/Book-Why-Science-Cause-Effect/dp/046509760X. (vi) Caterpillar’s CEO Doug Oberhelman made a big bet and lost. Here’s what he can teach us. | LinkedIn. (n.d.). Retrieved August 13, 2021, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/doug-oberhelman-learns-lesson-lora-cecere/ (vii) Cerere, L. (2016, October 17). (1) Caterpillar’s CEO Doug Oberhelman made a big bet and lost. Here’s what he can teach us. | LinkedIn. (viii) Grant, Tim, and Bas Kooter. 2005. “Comparing OODA and Other Models as Operational View C2Architecture,” June 13, 2005. (ix) As US exits Afghanistan, China eyes $1 trillion in minerals. (2021, August 24). Retrieved August 31, 2021, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/24/as-us-exits-afghanistan-china-eyes-1-trillion-in-minerals (x) Network, marinemonks N. (2021, August 16). How Afghanistan’s Taliban Takeover Will Affect The Shipping Industry—Marinemonks. Retrieved August 31, 2021, from https://marinemonks.com/how-afghanistans-taliban-takeover-will-affect-the-shipping-industry/ (xi) What high-reliability organizations get right | McKinsey. (2019 May 7). Retrieved September 1, 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/what-high-reliability-organizations-get-right

We all know how to find a job; we look, we learn, we apply. But even if and when successful, how do we find a career? Most Americans define a large part of their personal identities on the work they do and their particular capacity to do it well. Not only are we each American, but we are each laborer: plumbers, nurses, lawyers, programmers, athletes, cleaners, managers, and more. Some of us may stay in one field, and others move as interests and opportunities change, but we all take pride in our ability to contribute to the well-being of ourselves, our families, and our country. Over 70% of each year is usually spent on “work”; whether we seek a specific career, or it finds us, it is meaningful. We wanted to observe this Labor Day weekend with a CANA career story. Kurt Eades is one of our Senior Logistics Analysts with a diverse background and has, to paraphrase Liam Neeson, a “special set of skills.” Kurt is a part of many, many of our CANA projects and brings something exceptional to the table every day. He, and all the hard-working members of our team, are why we know Labor Day is something special. Kurt Eades enlisted in the Marine Corps in the early 1980s, specializing in motor transport vehicle maintenance and repair. After several years, he transitioned to explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) where he spent, in varying capacities, the majority of his long military career. Kurt’s primary responsibility was the response, identification, stabilization, and disposal of any variety of munitions: ammunition, bombs, chemical, biological, and nuclear threats. This was a job, we CANAers agree, that operates on a very thin margin of error! It was during this chapter of his career that Kurt completed some of his most satisfying and challenging missions. He participated in numerous ordnance clearing missions in the highly rural, mountain and jungle regions of Southeast Asia, including Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. With an expert’s knowledge in Weapons of Mass Destruction, Kurt also supported numerous training opportunities with a wide variety of government agencies and supervised response forces on a worldwide scale. After military retirement, Kurt took several years to explore slightly less “stimulating” work but eventually transitioned his talents to contract work in support of NATO. He served in a variety of capacities, stretching his knowledge and expertise, and over several years, became immersed in the Quality Control field. Kurt specifically worked in Fuels, overseeing Fuel Inspection programs and contracts throughout Afghanistan. It was during this period that Kurt crossed professional paths again with an old Marine friend, and CANA Chief Analytics Officer, Norm Reitter. It would prove serendipitous. In 2015, Kurt was still working in Kabul when the opportunity to work with CANA Advisors dropped into his lap. He accepted a position as a Logistics Analyst to support efforts on a Marine Corps business capability project and to also become CANA’s own Quality Control Manager. Highlights from his first few years included a deep dive into the company’s IT management and security, and participation in critical commercial and federal projects. One of these, CANA Drone Solutions, saw Kurt studying to become a drone pilot, to include drone operation, utilizing and testing drone mapping applications, and supporting videography. There is little doubt that Kurt’s dynamic background also made him an ideal choice for managing CANA’s functional security needs. Kurt adeptly took on primary responsibility for CANA cyber security, IT management, and accepted a role as Assistant Facilities Security Officer. In today’s environment, it is certain that security training, protection, and oversight are absolutely critical for brick-and-mortar and virtual businesses. Enhanced by his EOD experience and quality control expertise, Kurt’s keen awareness of the potential and realized threats has enabled CANA to continuously meet the needs of its diverse clientele. In 2020, the pandemic hit full force. CANA had an advantage in managing the huge changes as it was already virtual, but it was a fast and furious year of new cyber security classes, assessments, and threats. Kurt ensured CANA’s operational security during this trying time while remaining an active member of ongoing project teams. He and CANA have kept pace with the ever-changing environment, and 2021 is proving no different. Photo Credit: Michael “Fuzzy” Mauldin <<<< Famous Guy It is certain 2022 and the years following will continue to be years of great achievement for Kurt Eades and the rest of Team CANA. Kurt is the first to say it takes a team of true professionals for an organization to run smoothly, and we couldn’t agree more. But, we recognize the singular worth of a career spent in facing diverse, challenging assignments and the personal value in doing something you love. We hope CANA helps to provide that. We are so appreciative of what our team members bring to the table each and every day, and we know that sentiment will be shared on this upcoming Labor Day holiday. Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Here’s a quick tip I found – use a persistent spot windows server instance on AWS with OneDrive. This sped up my development time and workflow considerably! If you are new to AWS I recommend this Medium blog post by Tim Fogarty for a start. Getting started with AWS. https://medium.com/tfogo/getting-started-with-aws-d7c51133fc92. Here is the base architecture we will be installing our applications from: The key things we need for this configuration and setup are: 1. Persistent Spot EC2 Instance (to reduce costs) 2. AMI type: Windows_Server-2019-English-Full-Base-2021.06.09 3. Static Elastic IP: https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/ec2-associate-static-public-ip/ 4. Security Group: Open ports 22 and 3389 5. Remote Desktop Connection: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/connecting_to_windows_instance.html Once connected to your instance, you can now install and configure your applications: OneDrive, PowerBI Desktop, R/RStudio, Node, and PowerShell (for custom R visuals) After installation, I saved my remote desktop connection file (.rdp) to OneDrive so I could access this instance on any device I was working on. In the comments section - Please let me know how this works for you or any other tips you found to reduce your development time. Jerome is a Senior Operations Research Analyst here at CANA. You can contact Jerome at jdixon@canallc.com.

As a Principal Operations Research Analyst with CANA Advisors, I am always excited at the opportunities to participate in professional organizations. One such professional organization is the Military Operations Research Society (MORS), which hosts an annual symposium. This year’s symposium like last year’s was virtual, and just like last year’s, it was robust and engaging notwithstanding its remote execution. I was very pleased to provide two presentations at this year’s 89th MORS Symposium. The first was a summary of the non-profit work on military readiness I continue to do with www.probabilitymanagement.org. Since last year’s symposium, we’ve had our work published in the MOR Journal, a peer-reviewed journal of high academic quality, which describes a more technical continuation of the policy-focused work that won me and my PHALANX Magazine article co-authors—Dr. Sam Savage and Shaun Doheney—last year’s MORS Walker Award. We presented on the recommendations our response article published by the Center for International Maritime Security to an article in War on the Rocks by General Charles Brown, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and General David Berger, the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, calling for a better analytical framework for the joint force to better assess balancing operational costs of existing forces with investment costs to modernize and replace those forces. Additionally, I presented the status of CANA’s work on the Distribution Network Model (DNM), which is designed to determine the most responsive and lowest cost afloat and ashore tailoring a plan for inventory and transportation enablers and inform investment decisions to allow selection of the most effective affordable platforms to support Marine Corps future operating concepts. The model will allow the Marine Corps to explore new logistics operating concepts to include supplying many mobile austere bases distributed over thousands of miles. I was pleased to be joined by Mr. Ric Story, HQMC, LPO-2, who gave his organization’s perspective on the value of DNM. I always look forward to and enjoy the sharing of knowledge that takes place at the MORS Symposium, and I look forward to attending next year's 90th MORS Symposium! To learn more about the Military Operations Research Society, check out this link - https://www.mors.org/ Connor McLemore is one of our Principal Operations Research Analysts here at CANA. If you would like to contact Connor, you can reach him at cmclemore@canallc.com

Team CANA would like to welcome Tamara Harvey, Data Science Fellow, and Dallas Bowers, esports Intern! Tamara Harvey “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”- Maya Angelou Tamara comes to CANA with a unique background that includes three years of teaching experience in various settings such as Texas and China. During that period, Tamara gained unique perspectives and honed her analytics skills. In particular, she focused on creating visualizations given tracked data. Tamara learned she truly enjoyed the aspect of tracking and creating data and wanted to further explore that in her studies and career. This, partnered with her undergraduate experience with a vast variety of different data programs, and her ‘green thumb’ abilities in mathematical and statistical problem solving, have enabled Tamara to pursue her educational and professional goals. Tamara is currently nearing completion of her Masters of Science in Applied Mathematics, with a certification in Data Science, at California University of Pennsylvania. She will participate in the CANA Futures Program throughout the summer. Welcome, Tamara! You can contact Tamara at tharvey@canallc.com. Dallas Blowers The Journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step - Lao Tzu Dallas has two years of experience in data analytics for nonprofits. He has served as a consultant for organizations looking to maximize the impact of their surveys and focus groups. Dallas is currently a Masters student in Applied Statistics at Michigan Technological University and is a graduate of Clarkson University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences. While at CANA, Dallas will be learning more about the CANA culture and practicing professional analytics utilizing R and Python. He will be working with the esports team to explore existing and new opportunities for esports data management. We’re glad you’re here, Dallas! You can contact Dallas at blowers@canallc.com. If you’d like to learn more about the CANA Futures Program, please reach out to Cherish Joostberns, CANA Resource Lead, at cjoostberns@canallc.com.

We live in a world of data. There’s even data about data, called metadata. And all this data needs to be stored in databases. Some database systems are basic tabular files, such as Excel. On the other end of the spectrum are ultra-high performance database systems used by massive social media platforms. Twitter sends half a billion tweets per day which equates to 6,000 tweets per second. That’s a lot of data that needs to be stored as efficiently as possible. Databases are typically broken down into tables. One table might store customer data while another table stores a customer’s orders. The connection between customer data and their orders is formally known as a relationship. To minimize needlessly redundant data a category of databases was created, called relational database management systems (RDBMS). A RDBMS is a digital data collection for managing tabular data using a structure and language. A RDBMS structure is known as a schema and the language used to interact with a RDBMS is typically the Structured Query Language (SQL). When developing a RDBMS, it is critical that the database’s schema properly models how database tables relate to each other. This is known as database normalization which removes redundancies. Database tables track unique rows of data using a primary key. A primary key is the equivalent of the integer row numbers in an Excel spreadsheet. A RDBMS should start off with normalized data, which means only keys are duplicated in separate tables – the rest of the business data should be unique to each table. Later, when there's a performance issue, the database can be optimized, as needed, by denormalizing the data. Here are some basic properties of a RDBMS when developing a database schema. 1. Primary keys: Never build intelligence into a primary key – a primary key is simply an artifact of the database and it should represent nothing more than a way to access a row in a database table (i.e., don't use SSN as a primary key). Creating a primary key that's a simple integer is highly efficient since a computer can quickly find and compare numbers (in the case of integers) much faster than a string of nine characters (in the case of SSNs) or 16 characters (in the case of a universally unique identifier, better known as a UUID). 2. Table Names: Database table names should be singular (Employee, Order, Transaction, Statistic, etc). They should be named for what each row in the table represents, not the entire collection. The reason is that, typically, there's a one-to-one mapping between a row in a database table and an object used in code. For example, in code, an instance variable referencing an Employee object should represent a single employee from the database while an instance variable that's plural, such as Employees, should represent a collection of objects such as an array or dictionary. 3. Lookup Tables: A lookup table is a simple static database table that's used to populate a list or collection. For example, a list of countries that a company ships to. Perhaps, the company only ships to the U.S. and Canada. Later, when the company starts shipping to more countries, how does one update the pull-down menu of countries on the website or mobile app? With a lookup table, one simply adds another row to the table with the new country. Updating the database table is easier than changing the code, recompiling, and deploying. Additionally, a look up table also has a column representing a sort order. This is done so the list can be displayed in a specific order with, say, the U.S. listed first, instead of Afghanistan, if most of the customers are located in America. 4. Compound Primary Keys: A database table should have a single primary key for a typical one-to-many relationship to another table. Sometimes, it's necessary to have a many-to-many relationship. For example, a Person table related to an Address table. A person might have multiple addresses (homes), and an address might belong to multiple people. In these cases, where a many-to-many relationship is needed, then a simple middle table is set up with only two columns which contain two primary keys propagated from the two joining tables. One of the primary keys in the middle table is the primary key of the Person and the other is the primary key of the Address. Technically speaking, the two primary keys in the middle table are propagated foreign keys. I am not aware of a practical case where more than two primary keys are needed in a database table. In cases where I have seen three (or more) primary keys in a database table, I realized that the database designer didn't have a good understanding of relational databases. What that designer typically needed was a single primary key, and indices created for their other columns, to optimize their lookup speeds. 5. Number vs Varchar: Do not use a numeric type for defining data fields which won't be used for calculations. In other words, credit card numbers, phone numbers, SSNs, etc., should be string types (i.e. varchars) in a database’s schema. One specific problem I have encountered on a production system is when a developer stored the credit card security code (CSC) as a numeric data type. Although this credit card code is always numeric, it can contain an important leading zero. When I saw my CSC repeatedly failing at checkout on an e-commerce website, I immediately knew the problem and confirmed it by reaching out to the database administrator (DBA). Understanding these fundamental best practices will serve a programmer well in their efforts to create effective, efficient, and understandable code that works - whether for the data management of the mom-and-pop store down the street or the enormity of data in Twitter’s latest trending tweets. You can watch the full instructional video on the CANA Youtube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnkJ7a1QI_E #RDBMS #relationaldatabasebestpractices #data #joemoreno #csc #CANA Joe Moreno Joe Moreno is a Director of Development at CANA Advisors. You can follow him at joemoreno.com or contact via email jmoreno@canallc.com.

Have you ever had that “Oh git” moment, you know, that time in a project where the deliverable is due to a client and something unexpected occurs to the output after a data refresh over the weekend? It is usually followed by a sigh of relief because git is being used to manage the project and saves the day with its version control features that work like magic. Hopefully you have had an “Oh git” moment and not its sinister opposite, but just in case, here’s a quick git overview. Git is a free, open source platform that provides Source Code Management (SCM). SCM is synonymous with version control and provides a way to track changes made to source code, while keeping a running history of those changes. Those days of manually maintaining backup copies, appending versions to file name ad nauseum are a thing of the past. Being that all changes are tracked, it is quite easy to revert back to previous versions, and more beneficial, test any changes made to source code prior to adding it to the main source code. This is made possible through git’s awesome branching methodology. So, where do we start? For those command line gurus, git is very easy to install on Linux while Git for Windows allows easy installation on Windows and provides a git-supported shell (command line) via git bash. Both versions are easy enough to follow and implement, and there is also a wide-range of tutorials and “how to’s” some of which we’ve provided below. For those who navigate towards using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to do the heavy lifting, GitHub Desktop answers the call and comes with versions available for both Linux and Windows. There is also a vast amount of reference material to explain GitHub Desktop functionality. What makes git so easy to understand is its branching design concepts. Similar to how a tree has branches that grow away from its trunk, a project has a branch that grows from its base. The difference in git is that the branch at some point merges back to its base after some change has occurred. The terminology commonly used to explain these actions in git are: "create a branch," "commit a change," and "merge a branch." Let’s take a step back and look at the concepts of git which allow it to “save our bacon” when things go wrong with our edits. Commits Every time you make a change to a file tracked by git, it’s up to you to log that change into git’s database of changes. Also, you can log changes to more than one file at a time when these changes are closely related to one another. How git knows that these changes over various files “go together” is when you tell git by grouping the changes into a git structure called a commit. The Trunk Any effort on a project which changes files tracked by git over time shows up in the change history in git as a series, or “chain,” of commits. This chain is called a branch. Branches have a name, or label, so we can differentiate between them. There is a special initial branch, usually called “master” or “main” that is automatically created for you when you tell git to start tracking changes in a directory. Branches New branches can be easily created, starting from any commit on another branch (e.g., the main trunk) to explore any variant of the files (from that point in time), like a feature change, a bug fix, a what-if experiment, and so on. When the changes on the variant branch “check out,” they can be incorporated into the main trunk; otherwise the branch can be saved (i.e., “this might be a good idea for the future!”) or it can be easily discarded. This branching concept is made all the more crucial when other people are changing the project files, not just you. Time Machine So branching sounds like a great idea, but what if you want to switch from a feature branch, back to the main (trunk) branch? What happens to the current state of your project files? The nice thing about git is that when you switch branches (via the checkout command), it takes care of putting your files in the state that you last committed them on the target branch. And it happens very fast! And since a branch label is just a simple pointer to the latest commit on that branch, you can create a branch label on any commit in the “past,” and when you checkout that branch, your files revert to the content at that point in time, making git act as a time machine! Another way to recover the state of a file at some point in the past is to tell git that you want it to show you (via the show command) file such-and-such name at commit such-and-such time. Collaboration So far we’ve been talking about how git manages your project’s file changes as if you were the only one working on the project. Git’s history of changes, in that case, is stored in a special directory on your local machine’s drive. To start collaborating with other people, git has the clone command which makes a copy of your project’s change history (called a repository, or repo for short). You could then pass this copy to another person, but this manual process is cumbersome. Thus, git allows you to post the copy of your repository to a server that is accessible by your teammates. This is called the remote repository, or remote for short. Your teammates can then obtain a copy of the repository from the remote via running the clone command on their local machine. After cloning, any changes made by teammates working independently of one another (by logging commits on their respective local repos) can be coordinated via pushing to, and pulling from, the remote repo. Collaboration Services You may already know about well-known internet-based service offerings that help your team store remote repositories and allow your team to interact with them. Among them are: GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket, but there are several more, including self-hosted options, like Gitea and gitolite. They usually offer more than just a mere store for your remote repositories, like: forking (which is like cloning but happens on the server from user account to user account), issue tracking, discussion threads, wikis, project web pages, access to remote continuous testing, etc. Merging Changes With the idea of one remote and multiple local repos, git allows for team collaboration of changes such that one person’s changes can happen simultaneously with another’s, along parallel lines of effort. When more than one person’s changes need to be incorporated into the main trunk (base), they have to be serialized on the trunk, and any conflicting changes, if they exist, need to be resolved. This process is called merging. A great feature found in most commonly used web-based git collaboration services, like GitLab and GitHub, is the ability to incorporate a commit review process in which a collaborator requests permission to merge changes in a branch into the main trunk (base). In GitLab this is done by the merge request feature, while pull request is used for GitHub, both allowing the assignment of reviewers to those changes. There is nothing like an extra set of eyes on your work! Workflow The main “trunk” is usually where all these changes are logged, after they are reconciled to one another as a result of the merge process, but your team can use whatever git team workflow makes sense for them. Git doesn’t enforce a workflow; it just gives you the low-level tools to manage changes quickly and effectively. In Closing May your project experience be filled with plenty of “Oh git” moments. Here are a few sites we recommend and please keep a lookout for additional blog posts discussing more project-related concepts: -”Official Git Tutorial,” https://git-scm.com/docs/gittutorial -"Git Basics Videos,” https://git-scm.com/videos -"Introduction to Git: A Talk by Scott Chacon,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbLVvrb2-fY -“Bitbucket,” https://bitbucket.org/product -“Gitea,” https://gitea.io/en-us/ -“GitHub,” https://github.com -“GitLab,” https://about.gitlab.com -“Gitolite,”https://gitolite.com/gitolite #Git #operationsresearch #analyst #CANA #GitHub #Gitolite #GitLab Roque Graciani Roque is a Senior Operations Research Analyst. You can contact him at rgraciani@canallc.com. Rick Hanson Rick is a Senior Operations Research Analyst. You can contact him at rhanson@canallc.com.

The MORS 89th Symposium is next week and CANA is contributing to the community by sharing our unique analytics applications. We will lead two special sessions, present two technical briefs, and provide an esports demonstration. The events summary below lists the topics and times you can interact with CANA. List of Events Improving AI/ML Department of Defense Ethical Testing - WG 35 AI and Autonomous Systems - Tuesday, June 22 - 3 pm - 3:30 pm ET The testing of ethical principles for Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) models that may learn with the addition of new data sources outside the traditional DoD Test and Evaluation (T&E) cycle requires a new process. This presentation proposes a T&E rubric to improve the Department of Defense ML/AI model test effectiveness for acquisition program managers and each program’s Chief Developmental Tester. We evaluate 144 research papers in a DoD testing context categorized by three broad ML classes based on data type (e.g., supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning); makes recommendations on what properties to test for (e.g., correctness, relevance, robustness, efficiency, fairness, interpretability), provides an idealized workflow of how to conduct testing and presents an idealized way to look at where to conduct ML component testing (e.g., data processes, frameworks, and coded algorithms). Applicable T&E methodologies, use, and policy changes are also recommended. The proposed T&E rubric is intended to support Defense Department acquisition policy in DoD 5000.02 and uses the Defense Innovation Board AI Principles: Recommendations on the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence by the Department of Defense February 2020 AI Ethics Principles for DoD. This research was funded by the STAT Center of Excellence (COE). Logistics Community of Practice Special Session - Tuesday, June 22 - 4 pm - 5 pm ET The MORS Logistics Community of Practice is completing our third year. We focus on bringing together an eclectic group of logistics professionals across the National Security Community to discuss the hottest issues, review potential and applied solutions, and network whenever possible. This special session focuses on our 2020-2021 year in review along with discussions of where we want to take the Log COP for the 2021-2022 year. We will spend some time introducing participants and talking through current challenges. Logistics is very broad and touches many professions. Come join us for a candid talk, to meet others in the community, and to hear about where we are headed. Women In MORS Community of Practice Special Session - Tuesday, June 22 - 4 pm - 5 pm ET According to research studies, critical career-enhancing opportunities are shared unevenly by people in positions of power and influence, often without realizing that certain groups are disproportionately excluded. Hard work and technical skill are the foundation of career progress, but without some access to formal and informal networking opportunities, that progress can be stalled. Are you often the only woman at the table in your meetings or do you have few women in your organization? The Women In MORS Community of Practice invites you to a Special Session for their June COP Meeting featuring a panel presentation on effective networking strategies. The panel will feature a number of senior leaders in the national security arena including CANA's President, Rob Cranston! eSports Data Analysis Modeling - Rainbow Six Siege eSports Tournament - Wednesday, June 23 - 4 pm - 5 pm ET CANA eSports held a Rainbow Six Siege tournament in April 2021. The event's goal was to collect data on team tactics, determine critical skill sets, and team makeup using the data that is provided through First Person Shooters (FPS) games such as Rainbow Six Siege. This demo will review the mechanics of holding an eSports tournament event, using the event as an experiment to collect data, and the post-tournament data analysis results. An overview of the game and actual game play video is provided for context. The Distribution Network Model - Friday, June 25 - 10:30 am - 11:00 am ET The 38th Commandant’s Planning Guidance describes new naval operating concepts that present the Marine Corps with new logistics challenges: “Rather than heavily investing in expensive and exquisite capabilities that regional aggressors have optimized their forces to target, naval forces will persist forward with many smaller, low signature, affordable platforms that can economically host a dense array of lethal and non-lethal payloads.” The Marine Corps requires new logistics operating concepts to include supplying many mobile austere bases distributed over thousands of miles. The new logistics paradigm creates a network of supply and demand nodes, serviced by a wide variety of transportation types, that confounds more linear and traditional military force closure modeling approaches. The Marine Corps seeks to determine cargo and equipment prepositioning and numbers, types, and locations of traditional and non-traditional logistics enablers that are optimized to be most responsive while minimizing investment. The Distribution Network Model can determine the most responsive and lowest cost afloat and ashore tailoring plan for inventory and transportation enablers and inform investment decisions to allow selection of the most effective affordable platforms to support Marine Corps future operating concepts. In addition to these events, CANA will also have a booth if you want to learn more about what we are up to at CANA. Feel free to stop by and see what interesting analytical projects we are working on. We hope everyone attending the 89th MORS Symposium has a great time and we look forward to seeing you next week. Walt DeGrange is the Director of Analytics Capabilities. You can contact him at wdegrange@canallc.com.

By Jack Murray, CANA Intern, George Mason University CANA esports R6 Showdown Takeaways CANA hosted its inaugural open-player esports tournament this past April. It was a fast-paced, gripping event, and we gained some fantastic insights into this growing field. The initiating spark to host an esports event grew out of our interest in supporting the esports industry through the use of data analytics. Personally, I have been involved with video games for almost the entirety of my life, and I saw firsthand how quickly esports was growing. I started as a CANA intern during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw most traditional sports put on hold or canceled completely. This led to esports being one of the only sports entertainment options available to anyone and everyone. The easy accessibility, low cost, and variety of esports are contributing factors to its exponential growth. The pandemic may have inflated the true numbers, but esports was already on a path for this type of growth, it was just a matter of time and acceptance by the world. Although esports was expanding, it was still a new and young industry with so much untapped potential. As we looked into how CANA’s analytics could support this industry, we discovered the wide variety of video games that are played at the level of ‘esports’ all have different data to be explored. With the entire industry being a virtual environment, it breeds an abundance of data. There are some data analytics companies that are realizing this as well, but there is so much untapped data remaining. We also reached out and connected with two esports industry leaders, Rebecca Longawa and Wim Stocks. Rebecca is the founder of Happy Warrior, an esports consultant firm, and Wim just recently retired from being the General Manager and CEO of World Gaming & Collegiate Starleague and is now the Head of Partnerships and Commercial at Belong Gaming & Vindex. The three areas we were particularly interested in were: esports recruitment analytics, promoting diversity in gaming through analytics, and being an analytics provider for an esports league. As hosts of the event, we could collect a controlled data sample to conduct a variety of analyses. We selected the game Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege for its military-style, tactical gameplay. Our tournament included a mix of high school students, college students, and members of the US Army as part of a semi-pro team called US Army Esports. Some teams were semi-professional teams that had coaches, and others were just friends getting together to join in on the fun. Some were using our tournament as practice for real Rainbow Six League play. This provided us with a truly diverse group of gamers that were a mix of amateur and organized, highly skilled competitors. The event was a three-day tournament from 23 through 25 April 2021. In the best of 3 final series, Psych Ward won 2-0 against US Army Esports; the second game went to the last round of overtime to decide. It was a nail-biter, but Psych Ward won both games and the tournament! Great job, Psych Ward! Overall, the tournament ran smoothly, and we had a great time as hosts. Although we prepared for this tournament for about three months, there were several operational aspects we could have better anticipated. As every first event will have a learning curve, we recognized a few key takeaways. The first is to create alternative bracket systems in case of cancellations and no-shows. On game day, three of our eight teams dropped out. This dismantled our bracket system and required a solution on the spot. We solved the problem by adding a one-time losers bracket for the quarter-final losers. There is no way to be 100% positive each team is going to show up for every game, and we need to be better prepared for that. The second takeaway is to allow substitute roster spots at the time of registration. Life gets in the way sometimes, and it can affect players’ availability to play at the set times. We manually added substitute players, which led to much more work than necessary. The third is that we needed more people on the control end of the tournament. As one of the commentators, I was also the main player support person in the discord chat. Any player could reach out to me individually, or I would be the one in our discord server responsible for responding to them. This would have been better managed with an additional person. We also would have benefitted from having someone to put out social media posts during each match because game details in real-time is exactly what social media users are looking for. It would have helped build awareness of our event and drawn a larger audience if we had someone posting in real-time. CANA’s overall intent in hosting this tournament was to further explore analytics in esports. In that respect, it was an extremely beneficial experience. The most crucial takeaway is that there is a lot more data waiting to be discovered. We ran this particular tournament for one specific game, Rainbow Six Siege, and we also used a data application called R6 Analyst to get the most detailed information on the gameplay. The R6 application gave us a great deal of data to work with for each individual's gameplay statistics. This type of information can provide potential training points to players; inform spectators, scouts, coaches, and sponsors; and support industry game analysis and more, in a growing billion-plus dollar industry. Even with the large amount of data collected from this application, we quickly noticed there were many other aspects of the game that could have been collected. This validated the endless analytical aspects of this one particular game - and it is likely to be the same for all the other video games. At the moment, we feel esports data analytics has only scratched the surface of what information might be collected, and this tournament proved that. The other major takeaway is that the esports industry and community is extremely supportive. We received many suggestions and comments from our competitors and other esports industry leaders on how to make improvements going forward. Everyone wants esports to succeed, so they are always trying to help out. They are looking out for the best interest of esports as a whole, and that mindset is vital to the success of any industry. Lastly, esports and analyzing esports is a blast! This industry is so young, new, and exciting, and we are enjoying every moment of it. We are really looking forward to being a catalyst in furthering the success of esports through the use of data analytics. If you would like to learn more or get involved with future CANA Esports events you can reach out to us at esports@canallc.com or join our Discord at CANA_eSports (discord.com) #esports #esportsanalytics #rainbowsixsiege #CANAesports

To Camp Schreiber's 2021 College Graduates...The CANA Foundation wishes a hearty CONGRATULATIONS to Davion and Josh who both recently graduated from college! Now that you have completed your time within the Camp Schreiber program, the CANA family wishes you the very best in the next chapter of your lives. We know you will do amazing things! Davion Josh CANA Foundation, the internal charitable arm of CANA Advisors, was founded in 2017 with a mission to “give back to the communities we live and work in.” Camp Schreiber was one of the first initiatives that CANA Foundation undertook by providing financial support for Camp Schreiber’s tutoring program as well as mentorship to several of the young boys in the Camp Schreiber program. It is wonderful to see the success Davion and Josh have had academically as a direct result of the educational support Camp Schreiber provided them since middle school. In an age of quick hits and instant gratification, Camp Schreiber stands out as a beacon of hope and long-term commitment to the deserving young men in Wilmington, NC accepted into their program. Designed around a ten-year promise made to each of the boys, to support them from middle school through college graduation, Camp Schreiber is fully committed to the young men selected to participate and invest in the students, their families, and their education. CANA Advisors is proud to have been a supporter of these future leaders in their communities! #campschreiber #futureleaders https://www.instagram.com/camp.schreiber/ https://www.facebook.com/Camp-Schreiber-Foundation-469115433296867/ Kenny McRostie Kenny is the Senior Operations Manager at CANA Advisors and the CANA Foundation Manager and lives in Wilmington, NC. kmcrostie@canallc.com CANA Advisors is a veteran-owned, woman-owned, equal opportunity company based out of Gainesville, Virginia in the United States of America. © 2021 CANA LLC.

A Remembrance and Reflection on Memorial Day. As we wake up today to spend time with our families and friends and enjoy the day together, we have to take the time to remember what Memorial Day is really about. According to History.com, the definition of Memorial Day is, “an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.” Now, everyone has a different way of celebrating this holiday, and Memorial Day also has a different meaning for every person. We asked our team, What does Memorial Day mean to you? Here is what Memorial Day means to some within Team CANA: “Remembering and Honoring those who have given all in defense of this country. I usually visit a Veterans Cemetery with a group and plant flags in remembrance. I have too many friends who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, so I try to call their widows or relatives and just let them know I am still thinking about them.” “I reflect on the first time I walked the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC - it truly was quieter there, I swear I heard nothing - no vehicles, no voices, no birds. Just hushed quiet. I touched many of the names, not knowing any of them, but realizing as I ran my hand over the names that these were people who died in service to our nation. I cried a bit, and it was still quiet. I don't ever want to forget nor be grateful for their ultimate sacrifice, whether or not I agree with the reasons for our country engaging in the war or the conflict.” “More often than not, we have joined our friends in a Ride to Remember. They lost their eldest son in the war in Iraq and we all have lost a number of friends who gave their all.” “A reminder that the freedom of today rode on the backs of those before us.” “I admit it's not much, but it is near where I live so try and get over to Grandview Cemetery and take a drive through it to look at all the flags people post there to honor the fallen buried there and elsewhere. Just to give a silent thanks to the some I knew and many I did not. We will go throughout this holiday weekend catching up with people around us, and we remember it as a day of community and relaxation. But we ask that you think of this day as a time not only to remember but also to reflect on why we have a Memorial Day, why we get together with our family and friends, and ask yourself and your loved ones, What does memorial day mean to you? CANA Advisors is a veteran-owned, woman-owned, equal opportunity company based out of Gainesville, Virginia in the United States of America.

"Leadership is not about the next election, it's about the next generation" -Simon Sinek. We all know this to be true: it is the next generation that will drive technology, demand innovation, and find solutions. At CANA, we see it as our responsibility to help pass the torch from one generation to the next through mentorship, training, and professional support. Our CANA Futures Program is the culmination of several years of effort and tinkering, finding the right mix of community outreach, deciding what knowledge to impart, and making it all come together. CANA’s goal is to continue its deep support of veterans hiring programs while also embracing universities’ student up-and-comers. We very specifically want to encourage diversity in this program, seeking out opportunities to work with people from different walks of life, different experiences, and different talents. This past year found us kicking off an official program in the midst of some trying months. Many outside agency programs came to a standstill as they tried to navigate restrictions. We found our years of virtual work came in handy, as we had something to offer that didn’t need much adaptation to the times. It also gave us the opportunity to dive deep into special aspects of our program with fewer outside competing interests. Our Veterans Program is the most established element of the CANA Futures Program. We have engaged with the Hiring Our Heroes and SkillBridge Programs for a number of years, actively seeking to bring in transitioning veterans and/or their spouses into CANA as Fellows for up to 12 weeks at a time. These programs provide CANA with a limitless and diverse pool of talent. Applicants are eager, versatile, and more than capable of juggling their military transitions with civilian career exploration. Engagement with college students and graduates has matured this year into a cohesive, fully articulated Corporate Internship Program. We are actively recruiting for college students, freshman through senior, as well as young adults exploring the professional community. Part of this effort includes participating in outreach efforts such as resume reviews, virtual lectures, and Q&A sessions with college Career Services. CANA has also created both paid and unpaid internships of varying lengths, to include collaboration with universities for internship credits. We are thrilled that of our most recent interns, one is graduating in May 2021 with a degree in Sports Management from Loyola University, and the other is starting a George Mason University practicum to earn credits with us over the summer. In their time with CANA, these two individuals will be able to see the culmination of a remarkable project they were involved in from every aspect of development, research, execution, and analysis. Our CANA interns helped to plan, market, and run the first-ever CANA eSports Tournament in April 2021. Independent, virtual teams signed up to compete in a live, multi-round, elimination tournament of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. On top of their many other responsibilities, the interns performed as tournament hosts, sharing the game action with competitors and spectators. Afterwards, they are assisting CANA in its deep analysis of the collected data, building insights into esports analytics. We are excited to see how projects like this increase the interns’ professional scope. We think the CANA Futures Program is a great opportunity - for us as a company as well as for the young men and women who join us. To them, technologies and processes have always evolved and advanced at an exceptional rate; it is their normal, even if it feels new to many of us. There is an inherent belief that innovation is a given. This is a mindset we intend to embrace - there is always a better way to do things, and we can do it. If you’d like to learn more about the CANA Futures Program, please reach out to Cherish Joostberns, CANA Resource Lead, at cjoostberns@canallc.com.