Research Summaries

Back Sociotechnical System Evaluation of Naval Aviation Policies, Guidance, Training Events, and Training Systems

Fiscal Year 2019
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department NPS Naval Research Program
Investigator(s) Holness, Karen
Sponsor NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary As defined by Taylor and Felten (1993), any organization, including service organizations, that (1) uses technology in its processes to convert inputs to outputs (e.g., has a technological subsystem); (2) uses people to coordinate process activities and to maintain the integrity of the organization itself (social subsystem); and (3) accounts for factors external to the organization and their impacts on its processes, inputs, and outputs (environmental subsystem), is in fact an Sociotechnical System (STS). The majority of systems used within the Navy, Marine Corps, and Department of Defense (DoD) that require human interaction with hardware and software to execute a mission or Concept of Operations (CONOPS) can be considered STSs. This includes maintenance and support systems as well. The NPS-18-N142 research project focused on the current high-level STS used to conduct F/A-18 flight training events. This project identified system capability needs and corresponding technical and social requirements to create an STS that improves the conduct of these training events. Emphasis was placed on (1) interactions with hardware, software and people, and (2) corresponding processes to support these interactions. This FY19 research project focuses on the environmental interactions that would be necessary to engineer the improved STS design. An in-depth evaluation of the current external systems that influence the execution of F/A-18 flight training events will be conducted, including an assessment of policy, guidance, requirement, and organizational interactions. Proposed modifications to these environmental interactions in support of the STS design proposed in NPS-18-N142 are the expected deliverables of this FY19 project. These modifications are expected to include proposed technical and social requirements to facilitate these environmental interactions. Primary deliverables include an end of project report and one student thesis or capstone group report.
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