Design Directions for Support of Submarine Commanding Officer Decision Making

The Commanding Officer (CO) on a submarine makes numerous subtle perceptual judgments, assessments of complex situations, and decisions under conditions of time pressure, high stakes, shifting goals, dynamic conditions, and uncertainty. The objective of our project was to deeply understand and clarify the nature of the decisions made by a CO so that we could develop recommendations for a potential large-screen display to directly support CO decision making. To form our recommendations, in addition to reviewing relevant literature, we undertook at-sea observations and interviews, and also conducted interviews with 19 additional COs using cognitive task analysis elicitation methods. Through thematic analysis of the data collected, we identified six major cognitive challenges that COs face. We developed design directions addressing each of these cognitive challenges. The design directions involved providing a CO with active, future-oriented support; a vital signs display; an integrated vertical slice; simplified contact management; ability to spot leverage points; and what-if planning support.