Twelve adults experienced in using cellular telephones participated in an investigation of driving and performing a communication task. They navigated a closed serpentine driving course, requiring constant driving activity. Their communication task was responding to a verbal cognitive test battery administered by the passenger or via cellular telephone. The test battery consisted of sentence remembering with read-back and verbal puzzle solving. Baseline treatments were navigating the course without communication and responding to the test battery while parked. Subjects were prompted to report their current level of workload, using the Subjective Workload Assessment Technique (SWAT), throughout their tasks. Driving speeds were significantly lower when using the phone than they were with the passenger speaking, but the analysis did not reveal a difference in perceived workload between these conditions. Workload ratings were lower in the drive-only condition than they were when the driver used the phone.

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The military command and control process is certain to change given the introduction of new information technology and new organizational structures. To predict how these changes will impact system performance, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory Human Research and Engineering Directorate (ARL-HRED) sponsored the development of a modeling environment in which one can develop multiple concept models for any sized organization, staffed by any number of people, performing any number of functions and tasks, and under various communication and information loads. This environment is called Command, Control, and Communication: Techniques for Reliable Assessment of Concept Execution (C3TRACE). Among the performance measures tracked are operator utilization, the number of tasks performed, and the quality of decisions made by the operators. Recently, C3TRACE was used to develop models of two Future Combat Systems (FCS) conceptual configurations. This paper discusses the theory and application of the tool.

MicroAnalysis and DesignApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited.ii REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGEForm Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704-0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY)November 2006 ARL-MR-0656 SPONSOR/MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S) 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) SPONSOR/MONITOR'S REPORT NUMBER(S) DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENTApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ABSTRACTThe Future Combat System (FCS) initiative is at the center of the Army's Objective Force Vision. The Army Vision (2010) states that U.S. forces must have "information superiority: the capability to collect, process, and disseminate an uninterrupted flow of information while exploiting or denying an adversary's ability to do the same." In other words, the Future Force will be empowered by dominant situational understanding. To predict how proposed systems and displays will impact situational understanding and thereby decision making, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Human Research and Engineering Directorate used the tool C3TRACE (command, control, and communication: techniques for reliable assessment of concept execution). C3TRACE is a modeling environment in which one can develop multiple concept models for any size organization, staffed by any number of people, using any type of information technology, performing any number of functions and tasks, and under various communication and information loads. Among the performance measures tracked are Soldier utilization, the number of messages received, dropped, and interrupted, and the degree to which the information is available to support Soldier decision making. C3TRACE was used to develop a platoon-level model of an FCS conceptual configuration in support of the situational understanding as an enabler for the unit of action maneuver team Soldiers Army Technology Objective. The platoon model assumed wrist-mounted displays for the dismounted Soldiers and laptop-type displays for the mounted Soldiers. In general, the Soldiers using the laptop-type display were able to fully process more of their incoming messages and made no decisions with poor information quality. On the o...