Abstract

"Evidence of Naturalisitic Decision Making in Command and Control" This paper presents the results of research conducted by The United Kingdom Defense Research Agency (DRA) investigating the nature of command decision making processes. The DRA has been conducting research into various aspects of Command and Control decision making, examining how decision strategies are implemented by C2 staff in a number of controlled simulated environments. One major study involved a comprehensive survey of existing models of decision making and potential impacting variables. That work, together with observations from previous exercises, provided the foundation for the empirical study reported here. The program sought to demonstrate how previously identified critical factors (both human characteristics and external variables) modify process utilization within different decision making strategies. In addition, the work sought to assess the validity and relevance of existing models of human decision making. The identified models reflected a broad range of theoretical viewpoints, including both naturalistic and classical analytical paradigms. The findings of this study show clearly the utility of Naturalistic Decision Making in C2. These findings are being exploited in a raft of application areas including the development of computer support tools, information system evaluation, training, and computer simulation of decision making.


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