Empirical Identification of User Information Requirements in Command and Control System Evaluation

This paper summarizes a study that was conducted to address user information requirements for the Force Level Control System. It was the first in a series being conducted at the US Army Tactical Command and Control System Experimentation Site (AES). User information requirements were determined via monitoring and classification of communications during a command and control exercise, as well as through subsequent exercise participant input. Separate measures of observed communication frequency, rated importance, and rated perishability were obtained for a set of information elements that comprised a comprehensive taxonomy of tactical command and control communications content. Analyses were then conducted to explore the relationships between frequency, importance, and perishability as well as develop a comprehensive index of criticality. The resulting comprehensive index of criticality is intended to be used by systems developers in selecting the information to be conveyed and processed by the Force Level Control System. 2 refs., 2 figs.