Integrated Aiding and Training

Organizations that use a common knowledge base for aiding and training benefit in that (a) one knowledge base is easier to develop (b) updates are more timely, as both training and aiding require only one update, and (c) how aiding and training support complex performance can be clearly specified by the transformations used for aiding and training. Further benefits accrue when experts directly express their knowledge into the common knowledge base: the knowledge is current, and incorporates current job-relevant factors, such as available job aids and training. The primary difficulty in creating a system in which experts enter knowledge directly into a knowledge base used to present aiding and training is that the grain size of units created by experts and later required by automatic transforms differ: experts will naturally express their knowledge in relatively large grain sizes, and automatic transforms require small grain sizes. We will conduct research to try to find a middle grain size with which experts can express their knowledge and automatic transforms can use to create aiding and training. Once studies determine the best grain size, software that supports expert input and required transforms will be designed and developed.