ABSTRACT
The Advanced Embedded Training System (AETS) is an intelligent tutoring system that required a large-scale application of cognitive task analysis (CTA) to produce executable cognitive models of a team of human decision makers in a ship-based combat information center (see Zachary, Cannon-Bowers, Burns, Bilazarian, & Krecker, 1998). The team is responsible for maintaining and coordinating ship self-defense/air-defense warfare—an extremely fast-paced, information-rich task domain. The scope of the AETS application required that the CTA and resultant executable cognitive models deal with the full range of individual human activity in the combat information center— from high-level strategy to situation awareness to low-level keystroke sequences and eye movements, as well as the interactions among team members in collaboratively creating and maintaining an air-defense solution. The real-time nature of the work environment and the need to produce detailed executable cognitive models placed strong requirements and constraints on the CTA process for AETS. The need to analyze and model not a single individual but a whole team added further complexity. This chapter describes the methods by which these challenges were met in the AETS research. The general problem of performing CTA leading to executable cognitive models is discussed first, after which a general method for conducting team-level CTA in real-time environments is presented. The application of this general method to the development of AETS is then presented in a case study format and is followed by some concluding thoughts.
