Design and Implementation of a Cognitive Command and Control System for Tower Controllers

Motivation This paper describes a Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) practitioner’s approach to the design and implementation of a C2 system, focussing on how the CSE approach guided the system’s design features. Originality/Value – The VAPS project was built as a concept demonstrator to investigate the efficacy of a CSE approach to building C2 systems. Research Approach The project team adopted the Decision-Centered Design (DCD) Methodology (Crandall, Klein & Hoffman, 2006). Design Guided by the DCD process, this paper describes three example transitions from macrocognitive challenges to design prototypes. Research limitations/Implications Preliminary evaluation was conducted using cognitive indicators (Long & Cox, 2007) to see if the system hindered cognitive performance, and by obtaining expert feedback through a cognitive wall walk. Takeaway message – The CSE approach was useful for the design and implementation of VAPS. Future possible work could include additional validation of the effectiveness of the system features.