Barriers are not created equal. Some are better than others. Barrier effectiveness is a way to assess how well a barrier performs. Effectiveness is often used as a single property of a Barrier. However, in this article we’ll break effectiveness down into two main elements. Adequacy and reliability.
Adequacy
If you look at defensive driving as a barrier, it actually features on multiple Threats. However, defensive driving is not equally effective for those Threats. That’s because the adequacy is different. Adequacy tells you to what extent a properly functioning Barrier will interrupt a particular scenario. It’s important to understand that adequacy is not an absolute measure. The adequacy of a barrier can be different depending on the scenario that it is controlling. This is also the main reason why you shouldn’t copy paste Barriers with an effectiveness rating. It could be that the effectiveness is different, because the adequacy is different.