Decisions, decisions….and even more decisions: the impact of digitisation in the land warfare domain

Abstract

Motivation - Digitised mission support systems are currently being introduced in the military arena. The projected benefits include quicker, better-informed, more efficient decision making by the teams using them; however, these claims are often made without appropriate scientific testing.
Research approach – A live operational field trial of a new land warfare digital mission support system was observed. A range of Human Factors approaches were used to evaluate performance with the system in question.
Findings/Design – As a corollary of various flaws associated with the digital system, decision making was found to be more difficult, more drawn out and more susceptible to error. Rather than augment the decision making process, in some cases these flaws were seen to create further decision making requirements for users.
Research limitations/Implications – Using technology to provide access to more information alone does not guarantee improved decision making; designers must also consider aspects such as interface design, system usability and technological limitations in order to produce systems that truly support decision making in complex systems.
Originality/Value – Typically, digital mission support systems are bereft of human factors analysis; this article provides insight and guidance for future system design efforts. Take away message – Inappropriately designed technology has the potential to degrade decision making; designers need to understand and carefully consider the existing decision making processes that the end system is being designed to support

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Identifiers

ORCID for Neville A. Stanton: orcid.org/0000-0002-8562-3279

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