APPLYING RECOGNITION-PRIMED DECISION MAKING TO MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE DESIGN

FLIGHT-MISSION OPERATIONS CAN REQUIRE DECISION-MAKING UNDER CONDITIONS--TIME PRESSURE, PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS, POOR INFORMATION, UNCERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS--THAT MAKE CAREFUL ANALYSIS DIFFICULT. RECENT RESEARCH ON STRATEGIES OF EXPERIENCED DECISION MAKERS IN COMPLEX OPERATIONAL TASKS HAS GENERATED SUCH DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNTS AS THE RECOGNITION-PRIMED DECISION (RPD) MODEL THAT SHOW WHY PRESCRIPTIVE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS (DSS) ARE POORLY RECEIVED IN THE FIELD. UNDER PRESSURE, EXPERTS USE EXPERIENCE TO GENERATE A LIKELY COURSE OF ACTION. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BUILD ON RECENT RESEARCH WITH THE RPD MODEL FOR DESIGNING MORE EFFECTIVE DSSS AND MAN-MACHINE INTERFACES (MMI). IT SHOULD ALSO GENERATE THREE SETS OF ENGINEERING DESIGN PRINCIPLES, ONE FOR IDENTIFYING THE CRITICAL DECISIONS WITHIN A MISSION, A SECOND FOR DEFINING THE BOUNDARY CONDITIONS OF DIFFERENT DECISION STRATEGIES, AND THE THIRD ADDRESSING THE USE OF THE RPD MODEL FOR DSS AND MMI DESIGN. FLIGHT-MISSION OPERATIONS CAN REQUIRE DECISION-MAKING UNDER CONDITIONS--TIME PRESSURE, PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS, POOR INFORMATION, UNCERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS--THAT MAKE CAREFUL ANALYSIS DIFFICULT. RECENT RESEARCH ON STRATEGIES OF EXPERIENCED DECISION MAKERS IN COMPLEX OPERATIONAL TASKS HAS GENERATED SUCH DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNTS AS THE RECOGNITION-PRIMED DECISION (RPD) MODEL THAT SHOW WHY PRESCRIPTIVE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS (DSS) ARE POORLY RECEIVED IN THE FIELD. UNDER PRESSURE, EXPERTS USE EXPERIENCE TO GENERATE A LIKELY COURSE OF ACTION. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BUILD ON RECENT RESEARCH WITH THE RPD MODEL FOR DESIGNING MORE EFFECTIVE DSSS AND MAN-MACHINE INTERFACES (MMI). IT SHOULD ALSO GENERATE THREE SETS OF ENGINEERING DESIGN PRINCIPLES, ONE FOR IDENTIFYING THE CRITICAL DECISIONS WITHIN A MISSION, A SECOND FOR DEFINING THE BOUNDARY CONDITIONS OF DIFFERENT DECISION STRATEGIES, AND THE THIRD ADDRESSING THE USE OF THE RPD MODEL FOR DSS AND MMI DESIGN.