The introduction of information technologies into the battlefield generates a range of unique human factors issues. For example, integrating radically new communications systems with legacy devices may well lead to problems of interoperability and the misinterpretation of strategic and tactical data.
On today’s battlefield, the importance of accurate information representation and timely knowledge sharing across command networks cannot be underemphasised. A lack of early attention to human factors can compromise situational awareness at all levels, leading to ineffective force and platform deployment, logistics supply delays, even – in severe cases – ‘blue-on-blue’ or ‘friendly fire’ incidents.
In 2007, the HFI DTC was invited to attend an Operational Field Trial of the Bowman ComBAT Infrastructure and Platform (BCIP) at Sennelager in Germany. Bowman is the tactical communications system used by the British Armed Forces. ComBAT (Common Battlefield Application Toolset) is a software application that provides the core of the Battle Management System, from fighting platform up to divisional level. ComBAT has been designed to enhance situational awareness and to provide common operational, intelligence, personnel and logistic planning tools to, as its developers state: “improve the tempo, survivability and effectiveness of land forces”.
ComBAT has also been designed to facilitate mission analysis, to support the provision of orders, map overlays and route plans, and to provide formats for standardised reporting. The DTC researchers were tasked with undertaking a wide-ranging human factors evaluation of the BCIP system, specifically focusing on understanding how the Brigade and Battle Group personnel made use of ComBAT to undertake their headquarters planning tasks and to support their battlespace management activities. As well as the observation activities, the 3-week long evaluation involved a range of other techniques including:
- Cognitive Work Analysis
- an analysis of Distributed Situation Awareness and how it supports collaborative working
- an assessment against EEMUA (Engineering Equipment & Materials Users Association) 201, to understand if ComBAT meets with best human factors practice in control system interface design
- an assessment against a Usability Questionnaire
The outcome of this extensive and influential study has highlighted the need for more explicit input from human factors at the design and test stages of future battlefield technology projects, rather than waiting until relatively mature systems have been fielded. This requires that the technology user group representatives should be provided with human factors support to help them translate raw requirements into an integrated understanding of human performance in networked IT technology systems.
The project described here is from the Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre’s seven year R&D portfolio, which has involved very close collaboration with military end users. A comprehensive catalogue of R&D activities undertaken by the DTC can be reviewed by downloading the Centre’s 2008 Yearbook at www.hfidtc.com.
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