The tactical Tomahawk conundrum: designing decision support systems for revolutionary domains

Designing decision support systems for revolutionary domains is problematic because approaches such as cognitive task and work analyses are difficult to implement due to the lack of established domains or users. An example of such a conundrum is the development of in-flight retargeting capabilities for the US Navy's Tomahawk missile. The current version is a "fire-and-forget" missile. However, a new upgrade will allow redirection of missiles in-flight. This new capability means that not only will battlefield commanders have more flexibility, but also that an entire system of human control will be needed where none previously existed. For decision support systems in revolutionary domains like that of the new Tomahawk, the lack of an existing domain makes it difficult to design an effective decision support system. Using the Tomahawk as a case study, this paper demonstrates how the cognitive work analysis can be modified for application to intentional revolutionary domains.

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