Development and Application of Decision Aids for Tactical Control of Battlefield Operations: Decision Support in a Simulated Tactical Operations System (SIMTOS)

In an experiment designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an automated decision support system on tactical information processing and decisionmaking performance, 25 experienced Army officers played the role of Division G3 in the Simulated Tactical Operations System (SIMTOS). Results of the evaluation demonstrated that the concept of decision support is sound, although specific measures of tactical performance were insensitive to player actions. The decision support complex increased player's ability to interact effectively with SIMTOS and increased their satisfaction with the system. Further development of automated decision support for tactical decision making is warranted.