Supervisory Control in a Dynamic and Uncertain Environment: Laboratory Task and Crew Performance

A research program using a microworld methodology for investigating human performance in a dynamic uncertain environment is described. One- and two-person crews performed a supervisory control task that involved piloting a low-fidelity scout helicopter and supervising four additional helicopters. The simulated environment contained cargo and enemy craft that had to be discovered by searching a 100 mi2 forested region. The task required planning, intervention, and several types of resource management. An expert one-person crew performed comparably to novice two-person crews, and both of these were superior to novice one-person crews. More detailed analyses of performance revealed several types of limited adaptivity in the behavior of the novice crews.