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Problem Statement and Objectives
Submarine Commanding Officers (COs) need display systems designed to support and enhance their ability to make command decisions. After an initial cognitive task analysis study involving extensive interviews and observations of current COs, Klein Associates Division of ARA was asked to support the development and evaluation of the newest AN/BYG-1 tactical command system.
Some findings of our research:
- The legacy system provided little support for pattern recognition. The system provided unfiltered data, did not highlight important information, and provided inadequate support for integrating information from multiple sources.
- While previous systems historically provided insight into the data processes and increased the team’s understanding, the system being evaluated provided little support for mental simulation. This resulted in a visible lack of support of the COs’ projective and diagnostic needs.
- These shortcomings were linked to cognitive challenges witnessed and expressed in “after-event” interviews. Of particular concern, in complex situations where the COs’ experience is most important, the system failed to highlight critical information when the COs needed it most.
Results and Benefits
ARA proposed six initial design directions to be implemented in decision support displays in the control room. Three of these dealt with understanding the current situation, and three were aimed at supporting, planning, and projecting into the future. Two of these directions are being incorporated into this year’s Advanced Processing Build software upgrade for Los Angeles class submarines and will have a direct effect on the ability of submarine commanders to operate more effectively. More recently, Klein Division of ARA helped collect data in the January 2006 Submarine Watch Section Task Analysis event. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory-led event baselined crew performance in a challenging scenario carried out at Norfolk’s submarine training simulator. Although many different groups collected data during this exercise, it permitted Klein Division to expand our cognitive analysis beyond the CO to the entire control room crew, although the focus was on performance of the AN/BYG-1 tactical command system.
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Periscope sweep of outside picture
Los Angeles class submarine underway
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