SEAD and the UCAV: A Preliminary Cognitive Systems Analysis

This report is the first step of a program with three explicit goals: (1) to illustrate and test the framework of Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) for use in military systems analysis and design; (2) to generate a database that will be useful for designers and managers working on the development of UCAVs for use in the SEAD mission; and (3) to develop interfaces for UCAVs. These goals are tightly coupled in that the usefulness of the database and the ability to develop effective interfaces and user-aiding concepts will be the true test of the CSE framework. The report is most relevant to the second goal. It provides a CSE framework for interpreting and organizing data generated from cognitive task analyses of the SEAD mission. The CSE framework is unique in that it develops a holistic approach to human-socio-technical systems. It explicitly considers factors in design analysis that go beyond the technology boundaries of a system to reveal important constraints for proper consideration in the process of synthesizing a design concept. The report illustrates initial benefits of this form of system analysis.