Cognitive Works Aids for C2 Planning: Actionable Information to Support Operational Decision Making

Abstract : As the Department of Defense (DoD) moves toward a net-centric environment, all the services are becoming increasingly dependent on information technologies (IT) to process data, present relevant information, and aid Command and Control (C2) work . Just as the amount of available data and reliance on IT increase, so do the challenges of providing, in as concise a form as possible, only the relevant and actionable information needed to support C2 operators. This paper describes a design for a global mission planning C2 work aid. The discussion describes a cognitive based design approach to developing work aids called Work Centered Support Systems (WCSS) and demonstrates the actionable information used in an operational scenario to optimally support critical decision making. Although the work aid is demonstrated in a global mission planning scenario, the WCSS visualization principles can be applied to a variety of air operations C2 work.