The purpose of this paper is to present a multifaceted approach to the measurement and evaluation of complex Navy system designs with embedded realtime mission critical characteristics. The approach advocates the use of a visual simulation model, constructed in the Visual Simulation Support Environment (VSSE), representing the design so as to achieve dynamic measurement of the design. A knowledge-based approach is proposed for the independent evaluation of hundreds of design indicators. The Objectives/Principles/Attributes (OPA) framework is used as the underlying structure for the measurement and evluation of all three major aspects of a system design: project, process, and product.