Electronic Performance Support System
Office of the Secretary of Defense
Department of Defense (DoD)
Challenge
To promote the development of new technologies with direct national defense applications, the Office of the Secretary of Defense contracted with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) to implement a research and development program. NCMS awarded contracts to L3 Communication Corporation's EER Systems Division to produce a portable electronic device that, among other functions, can assist technicians in the repair and maintenance of large, complex mechanisms, such as aircraft engines. NCMS, seeking to ensure that any such device would in fact be both effective and a useful, practical tool, contracted with Didactics to evaluate the effectiveness of the device and its human performance potential, and recommend improvements to its design and operation.
Strategy
L3 Communications developed a prototype Electronic Performance Support System, a dockable electronic tablet with integrated Web and wireless communications technologies. Blueprints, schematics, and detailed descriptions of procedures for routine maintenance, repairs, and trouble-shooting of jet aircraft engines can be selectively downloaded from a networked server, depending on the system being repaired. Outstanding features of this device are its portability, so that critical information is available to technicians at the point of service, when it is most needed and where it can be most useful, and its intuitive user interface, which includes a mentoring capability. Didactics conducted benchmark studies to document workflow, technical processes, human interfaces, and environmental conditions, thus establishing a baseline for evaluating the product's effectiveness and a benchmark for subsequent evaluations.
Impact
Didactics' benchmark analysis of the user-interface requirements, workflow, and task performance improved understanding of the performance environment and its users, enabling more effective product design. The prototype is now in Alpha Testing, and Didactics' baseline assessments will serve as the standard for further refinements to ensure that users can navigate the content and make the most effective use of the device's functions.