Composability Issues in Human Performance Modeling

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Composability Issues in Human PerformanceModeling

• Mike Young, PhD
• Human Performance Lead
• [phone]
• Michael.Young_at_wpafb.af.mil

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Presentation

• What is Human Performance modeling and simulation
  research
• Select programs
• Composability defined
• Federation Development and Execution Process
• What does composability mean for a human
  performance model
• A possible approach to semantic composability
• Mission Essential Competencies
• Summary

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What is Human Performance Modeling and Simulation?

• Cognitive Science Research Developing
• Authoritative behavioral models of individuals,
  organizations and societal groups
• New types of computational techniques
• Cognitive Science Research Goals
• Enabling military transformation
• New analytic capabilities
• Methods to explore alternative concepts of
  operations for futuristic warfare scenarios
• Improving wargame realism while reducing exercise
  cost
• Integration of C41 systems and simulations
• Reduced support staff (technical controllers and
  role players)

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Select Programs

• Intelligent Mission Controller Node
• Develop new methods to link operation systems to
  simulations
• Develop automation aids to reduce exercise
  support staff
• Crowd Modeling
• Design a crowd simulation for Operations Other
  than War (OOTW) training, mission rehearsal, and
  analysis
• Quelling crowds
• Police-type missions
• Refugee operations
• Cultural Modeling of Command and Control
• Develop a toolkit to enable intelligence analysts
  to create models which incorporate country and
  cultural variability

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Composability

• The capability to select and assemble simulation
  components into simulation systems
• Syntactic Can the components actually be linked
  together at the software level?
• Parameter passing mechanisms, timing issues, data
  access
• Semantic Does the composed system produce
  meaningful results?
• Data representations, assumptions concerning
  reality

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Federation Development and Execution Process
(FEDEP)

• The FEDEP process provides a structured approach
  for addressing composability issues
• Step 2, Develop Federation Conceptual Model, and
  Step 3, Design Federation are critical
• Major challenge Semantic composability

Human Performance Model 2
Human Performance Model 1
Simulation a
Simulation b
Federation D
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What Does Composability Mean for a Human
Performance Model?

• Semantic Can the model perform the required
  behaviors?
• There are no general purpose human performance
  models
• Models are often of tasks (e.g., driving a tank,
  under select conditions)
• And sub-component processes (e.g., eye movement)
• Integrative architectures can speed model
  development
• Are the data sources compatible with model
  requirements
• Required data is highly dependent on inference
  mechanism used by model
• Models can be at different levels of resolution

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A Possible Approach to Semantic Composability

• Missions (Air Space Superiority, Global Attack)
• USAF Task Lists (Provide Global Attack)
• Mission Essential Tasks (Provide Combat Search
  and Rescue)
• Supporting Tasks
• Enabling Tasks
• Conditions
• Mission Essential Competencies
• Supporting Competencies
• Knowledge and Skills
• Training Task Lists

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Mission Essential Competencies (MECs)

• USAFs Air Combat Command initiated the MECs
  program to take advantage of Distributed Mission
  Training (DMT) capabilities
• Focus is on competency based training
• Not tasks, but higher-order individual, team, and
  inter-team competencies
• Context specific
• Maximal performance standard
• MECs are purposeful behaviors with a beginning,
  ending, supporting competencies, and lists of
  required knowledge and skills
• In the future we may be able to characterize
  human performance models by the MECs they support

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Summary

• Human performance models are fundamentally
  different from other classes of models
• Composability issues focus on behavior and data
  requirements
• New ways to characterize and document models are
  needed
• New behavior taxonomies are being developed that
  may solve some of the semantic composability
  problems