Measuring the effectiveness of an overview display for the mission to launch platform assignment process essential to the Tomahawk strike coordinator

This paper describes a computerized decision tool that supports Tomahawk strike coordinators in the complex process of allocating missions to launch platforms. The research followed a human-centered systems design process. The first phase involved a domain analysis of the Tomahawk weapon system, and the platform assignment process used by Tomahawk strike coordinators in the U.S. Navy today. The next phase was an iterative process of prototype development resulting in a decision tool that utilizes a high-level overview display, a graphic representation of platform characteristics, and an assignment tool. In the final phase, thirty two undergraduate students were trained and tested on one of two versions of the prototype (with or without an overview display). The results support the hypotheses that those subjects utilizing the high-level overview display make assignments faster and rate their situation awareness higher during the assignment process than those without the overview display.