EAST (Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork): A Novel Integration of Ergonomics Methods to Analyse C4i Activity

Abstract

C4i is defined as the management infrastructure needed for the execution of a common goal supported by multiple agents in multiple locations and technology (Harris & White, 1987). In order to extract data from complex and diverse C4i scenarios the Defence Technology Centre for Human Factors Integration (DTC HFI) has developed a descriptive methodology called Event Analysis for Systemic teamwork (EAST). With over 90 existing ergonomics methodologies already available, the approach taken was to integrate the following; a Hierarchical Task Analysis (Annett et. Al. 1971), a Coordination Demand Analysis (Burke, 2005), a Communications Usage Diagram (Watts & Monk, 2000), a Social Network Analysis (Scott, 1991; Driskall & Mullen 2005) and the Critical Decision Method (Klein, Calderwood & MacGregor 1989). The outputs of these methods provide two summary representations in the form of an enhanced Operation Sequence Diagram and Propositional Network. These offer multiple and overlapping perspectives on key descriptive constructs, including; who the agents are in a scenario, when tasks occur, where agents are located, how agents collaborate and communicate, and what information is used and knowledge shared. The application of these methods to live data drawn from the UK rail industry demonstrates how alternate scenarios can be compared on key metrics, how multiple perspectives on the same data can be taken, and what further detailed insights can be extracted. Applied across a number of scenarios in different civil and military domains, the ultimate aim of EAST is to provide data to develop generic models of C4i activity, and to improve the design of systems aimed at enhancing this management infrastructure

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(Any views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the UK MoD)