Assessing Cognitive Load and Usability for CEMA Training Using COBWebS

Abstract

The Army's Modernization Priorities describe a need for network hardware, software, and infrastructure to allow soldiers to fight when the electromagnetic spectrum is denied or degraded, as well as the need to improve human performance and decision making through training starting at the soldier level through the Synthetic Training Environment. Modeling and Simulation technologies can provide an avenue to support this type of training, especially in the growing area of Cyberspace and Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA). Cyber Operations Battlefield Web Services (COBWebS) is a training technology that can provide Cyber effects to the end user. This research aims to provide information about the effectiveness of the COBWebS user interface design to support CEMA training. The study is a repeated-measures design where participants will experience two different levels of information (high information = very detailed, low information = streamlined version of information) in a counterbalanced design. Participants will be given an overview of the purpose of COBWebS and the type of tasks they will be doing during the study. They will then be given a set of tasks to complete using COBWebS. The participants will use a talk-aloud protocol where they are talking through their decisions and what they are looking at, take subjective usability and workload questionnaires, as well as undergo a semi-structured interview at the end of each session. The hypothesis is that as the level of complexity increases, the participants will exhibit attentional narrowing, focusing on specific areas most relevant to the task at hand