Entry Title	Integrated Training & Performance Support (ITAPS) Solution
Type	Performance-Centered Workflow Solution
Submitted by:	SI International, Inc.
Contact Name:	Janet Cichelli, Chief Technologist
Phone:	240-778-1223
E-mail:	Janet.Cichelli@si-intl.com
Address:	2099 Gaither Road, Third Floor Rockville, MD 20850

Overview:

The Department of Defense community realizes that accurate technical information is necessary to support today’s sophisticated military systems. Technical publications have historically documented much of this information and have been created to reduce the need to commit technical data to memory. Timely access to accurate technical data—task procedures, complex schematics, and troubleshooting protocol—helps to facilitate on-the-job performance and reduce the time to attain job proficiency. But traditional print-based technical manuals are cumbersome to use and difficult to keep current.

Interactive electronic technical manuals provide for cost-effective conversion and allow for easier update and distribution as compared to paper manuals, but they have considerable performance deficiencies associated with their design and usefulness. These deficiencies can be effectively addressed by evolving electronic technical publications to a goal-oriented, performance-centered design (PCD) paradigm. This requires an enhanced understanding of human performance design; interface, context, and content design; functionality, standards, and architecture; and ultimately the impact on performance outcomes.

The International Programs Directorate within the U.S. Navy’s Center for Surface Combat Systems, located in Dahlgren, Virginia, selected SI International to develop a next-generation integrated training and support system (ITAPS) targeted to military maintenance personnel onboard ships employing the Aegis weapons system. ITAPS will be used as a supplement to formal training in the Navy schoolhouse environment, onboard ship, and in shore-based facilities. It will be used to augment classroom training exercises, facilitate shipboard on-the-job training (OJT), and provide real-time troubleshooting and mentoring support while underway and during military engagements at sea. An overarching goal of ITAPS is to leverage the technical content contained in technical publications, but to greatly improve on its content design, accessibility, and usefulness.

ITAPS has the following primary features and capabilities:

§ Employs a System Level View using hyperbolic browser technology to conceptually display an interactive system enterprise

§ Employs a Task Level View and a Equipment Level View for detailed procedural information and support

§ Provides access to high value information/artifacts (e.g., schematics, ship impact) within the context of tasks

§ Employs integrated equipment simulation sequences to reduce amount of text and increase visual interface.

§ Employs adaptive hypertext to reduce amount of text and increase visual interface.

§ Captures expert advice and knowledge from  Navigation System worldwide expert(s), which is delivered within relevant task context

Synthetic Trainer Integration

A number of synthetic maintenance training systems have been developed to provide high fidelity, free-play graphical models of weapon systems or equipment.  These applications are designed to provide a maintainer with visual and/or aural cues that the maintainer would see and/or hear when interacting with a specific system.  Within the standalone synthetic training application, each student has a synthetic model of the equipment and graphical models of all of the tools and test equipment that the maintainer uses to diagnose and repair the equipment. To date, these have resided as separate applications available in the schoolhouse and deployed environments; however, their utility makes them a valuable addition to an environment such as ITAPS. ITAPS fully integrates access to synthetic training interactions within the context of guided task support and does not require the technician to navigate between separate, extrinsic support systems.

Hyperbolic Browser for Visualizing a Complex Shipboard System

The main ITAPS screen provides a visual representation of the shipboard enterprise of Combat System Navigation systems and components. This is accomplished through a system map, which serves to illustrate the relationships and the interfaces between and among various Navigation elements and is used as a user interface navigation mechanism to drill down to the Equipment/Task-Level Interface for a selected system in order to perform related tasks. The system map depicts the Navigation System conceptually, versus an explicit representation of the ship’s physical layout and equipment location, since explicit representations may differ from ship to ship. The system map has been implemented using a browser technology know as a hyperbolic browser. The hyperbolic browser provides a fisheye view that makes it easy for the user to explore the hierarchy without getting lost.

The System-Level Interface links authoritative technical information so the maintenance technician can quickly pull the appropriate information currently residing in technical manuals and other tools and documents and not have to go to multiple places to access troubleshooting or maintenance information. Having ITAPS available off-line also provides technicians the ability to free-play with the system and see how the various equipments interact, what data is exchanged, and learn more about how to support the entire system rather than the specific equipment for which they have received formal training.

The System-Level Interface provides three filtered views: Troubleshoot, Learn About, and Maintain. These alternate views provide more targeted presentation of ITAPS functionality and information to closely match the performer’s goal. When accessing ITAPS, the default view presented at the System-Level Interface is the Troubleshoot View.

Troubleshooting Workflow

The Troubleshooting View provides a logical approach to fault isolation and guides the technician to locate and resolve a problem. ITAPS supports fault isolation by presenting the system map and including the data flow through the system to allow users to track down the source of fault indications and begin the troubleshooting procedures. Using this view, a technician has the ability to drill down to individual pieces of equipment and get the information necessary to isolate the faults and follow prescribed procedures for correction.