Beyond Behavior: Making Cognitive Systems Engineering Part of Navy Acquisition

Although much of the work that Navy operators undertake is cognitive in nature, involving tasks such as sensemaking, planning, decision making, and attention management, most of the human factors work done in Navy systems acquisition is task-based, or behavioral in nature. Neither the JCIDS process (per DAU Guidebook) nor the Navy Instruction 5000.2 incorporates processes for cognitive engineering, although DoDI 5000.2 specifically calls for cognitive engineering in its human systems integration chapter. Despite Navy Tactical Decision Making under Stress (TADMUS) work in the 1990s, which created much of the impetus and progress in cognitive engineering, it is a challenge to find current evidence of cognitive engineering work ongoing in Navy acquisition. This paper describes a year and a half effort on behalf of OPNAV N857 to show how cognitive systems engineering (CSE) can be used for requirements development and redesign of command and control displays. The effort showed how to merge CSE into systems acquisition phases, and developed requirements based on operational needs of two of the eleven commands in Naval Expeditionary Combat Command, Maritime Expeditionary Security Force and Riverine Force. The project also created a C2 display to provide deployed expeditionary forces with a common operating picture and developed a 60-page guidebook to document the process for system development managers and engineers. We will describe the CSE process in this project, from preparation and data collection/analysis through requirements development, display design, and validation. The addition of cognitive systems engineering to Navy human systems integration promises to improve greatly how technology supports Navy officer and enlisted crewmember cognitive work for ACAT IV and smaller system development efforts.