Evaluation Tools to Aid Command and Control Operators in Chat-Based Communication Monitoring

Abstract

Command and Control operators rely heavily on text-chat communications to efficiently plan, direct, coordinate, and control assets. This communication intensive environment imposes a high degree of workload on operators thus resulting in failures of detection or comprehension of messages. This study examined the performance and workload associated with monitoring chat communication with access to features that allow for speech-to-text input as well as the highlighting of keywords. Operators monitored and responded to the occurrence of critical signals presented during a 10-minute chat monitoring task. Performance was analyzed with regard to message detection as well as measures of perceived mental workload. Data showed that voice response results in more detections than typing and that keyword highlighting also aids in overall detection. Voice response and keyword highlighting can be beneficial tools to operators monitoring chat because they afford quick and accurate text input thus allowing operators to maintain awareness of their display and reduce their workload.