Applying Human Factors Research Towards Cyberspace Operations: A Practitioner’s Perspective

Cyberspace operations are dependent upon highly sophisticated technology. Unfortunately, it is challenging to find or develop solutions that successfully support critical processes and decisions. Innovation, and the resources associated with innovation, appear to focus primarily on the technology with little emphasis on the human factors associated with employment, training, and sustainment of the capabilities. Researchers and vendors often mistakenly apply information technology solutions to cyberspace operations problems. In such cases, a poor understanding of the nature of the cognitive work and the goals in cyberspace operations results in technologies that are of limited usefulness and usability with regard to the purpose and scale of military operations. This paper presents a practitioner’s perspective on the core human factors of cyberspace operations. It concludes with strong recommendations for how to better incorporate cognitive engineering and experimental psychology practices into research and development projects.