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Problem Statement and Objectives
ARA conducted a three day workshop in Singapore to train developers and engineers of Singaporean Armed Forces (SAF) Command, Control, Communications, Computing, and Intelligence (C4I) systems. The purpose of the workshop was to provide designers of C4I systems with:
- a new perspective on designing for human operators that accounts for the situation assessment, sensemaking, decision making, and planning activities
- a focus on the process of sensemaking that supports understanding of situations in complex work environments, such as combat and disaster relief
- methods for creating “the cognitive case” for design • methods for incorporating cognitive challenges as the high drivers for the design of systems that support command, control, communication and intelligence activities
- on the job training to support the successful transition of the skills learned in the workshop to the Assault Combat Vehicle Program to support command and control on the move
Results and Benefits
The system designers left the workshop with a suite of methods, specific processes for requirements definition, and a broader design approach. These tactics can leverage the capabilities of advanced technologies to support the existing expertise of military commanders as well as supporting the development of expertise by junior commanders. Follow-on workshops have been conducted to support the Singaporean defense science and technology agencies in building an in-house cognitive science capability that champions designing for effective sensemaking and decision making, as well as in support of a design team responsible for generating the next generation battle management systems for on-the-move command and control. These workshops and on the job training opportunities provide techniques to designers to allow them to develop information systems that do not disable the existing expertise of the decision maker, a problem often seen with the clumsy application of new technologies. Rather, the goal for this new design approach is to recognize the cognitive challenges of complex work environments and identify critical cognitive requirements that must be addressed in the design of new systems and work processes. |
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Data/frame model of
sensemaking
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