Information Presentations for Distributed Decision Making: Observations at the Naval War College
Abstract
This report describes research at the Naval War College in which a psychology theory was applied to information presentations potentially able to support distributed decision making in the Naval Battle Group. The psychology theory describes how information used by experienced decision makers is encoded in memory and used for situation interpretation, decision making, and problem solving. The information presentations represent plans. They are intended to support distributed decision making by helping all decision makers have a better and more uniform understanding of the plan, by helping them be alert to critical tactical conditions that bear on the continued viability of the plan, and by reminding them of the different responsibilities and tasks of all Battle Group decision makers. apply information presentation principles developed from the psychology theory to charts representing war games plans at the Naval War College. These charts proved easy to understand and useful of eliciting plan information, In addition, the charts were sufficiently flexible to be updated as the plan was executed, and consequently could be used to represent the progress of the plan in meeting mission objectives. The war game participants generally commented favorably on the chart, suggesting that such presentations, if integrated into the Battle Group tactical information system, might contribute to military effectiveness by aiding planning and plan supervision. Contrary to expectation, no example of poor coordination caused by differing situation assessments among decision makers was observed in the monitored war games.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 19, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA203236
Entities
People
- David Noble
- Joseph Truelove