Measuring Human Performance in a Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET)
Abstract
Tactical warfighter networks represent the final leg of the Network Centric Warfare space to mud continuum. The challenges associated with developing, evaluating, and fielding these networks are significant, as experience from field evaluations demonstrates. Even more critical is the capability to quantitatively measure the extent to which tactical networks serve the Warfighters who depend on them for data and information. Such analysis is constrained in two respects. The first is the lack of measures for the reliable correlation of human performance to network Quality of Service levels. The second is the lack of applied data collection methodologies for objective analysis of timeliness and accuracy of decision inputs in the context of integrated Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance networks. This article reports on research applications addressing both issues. Our findings were developed over a 5-year period from experience in a tactical networked operations field test environment. We describe a methodology for the reliable collection of human situational awareness measures and report human performance findings in the context of network metrics. We suggest emerging linkages between human and network performance metrics. Our conclusions recommend future actions that will support user-centric test and evaluation of tactical networks, systems, and networked Command and Control.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA530320
Entities
People
- Elizabeth K. Bowman
- Randal Zimmerman
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory