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Copyright © 1998, 1999 U.S.
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APPENDIX C TOOLS Automated Information Systems (AIS) MANPRINT Management Tool The AIS MANPRINT Management Tool was designed to provide support to MANPRINT analysts in estimating manpower, personnel, and training resources associated with an automated information system. The tool runs under Windows 3.1 or higher and uses a mouse for operation. The first step in using the tool is to define the system. Attributes of the system inclued the name of the system, a brief description, the first year the system is operational (which is called the base year), and the number of years the system will be operational (which is called the system life). The base year and number of operational years determine the years for which manpower and training resources are estimated and are used in the computation of costs in terms of then-year dollars. After the system is defined, the next step is to develop the Target Audience Description (TAD). To build the TAD, the user first defines the type of unit (ground, aviation, logistics, etc.) associated with the AIS and then assigns occupational categories (i.e., enlisted, warrant officer, commissioned officer, and civilian), specialty and grade, to each unit. The tool accesses specialty data in the Army Manpower Cost System (AMCOS) database to help the user assign specialties. Specialty data includes enlisted, warrant officer, commissioned officer, and general schedule (GS) civilian specialty designations, descriptions, and valid grade ranges. The user is allowed to define new specialties and assign them to units. The next step is to estimate manpower requirements. The fielding plan spreadsheet lists each unit from the TAD as a row and each year of a system life as a column. For each row, the user enters the number of units that will be operational for each year. There is a manpower spreadsheet for each type of unit. The user enters the number of manpower positions of each category needed by a single unit and the tool computes the total number of positions for the category each year by multiplying the number of units operational as indicated in the fielding plan. The user can view manpower totals and costs by category by year. The tool develops four lists of affected training courses, one for each of the four personnel categories. The lists are used to manage the estimation of training costs, which is done one course at a time. Two types of training costs are estimated: the costs of developing or writing the course and costs of delivering or teaching the course. Development costs are assumed to be one-time costs that are incurred in the base year of the system. Delivery costs are assumed to be in each year of system life and are a function of the costs per graduate and the number of graduates. Both developmental and delivery cost estimation methodologies access the AMCOS database to compute personnel costs. When these steps have been completed, the user has developed a TAD, estimated manpower required, and estimated training costs. The conduct trade-offs section can be used to display manpower estimates and training delivery costs in spreadsheets or graphs. Also, manpower costs are computed in the tradeoff section and can be displayed in a spreadsheet or graph. However, the primary use of the tradeoff section is to compare two or more versions of a system, such as a baseline and one or more of the alternatives. The user first completes the steps from Define the System to Estimate Training for each version of the system. The user then uses the Conduct Tradeoffs step to compare the versions using spreadsheets and graphs. Information on how to obtain the ARL AIS MANPRINT Management Tool is available from the sources listed below:
Army Manpower Cost System (AMCOS) The Army Manpower Cost System (AMCOS) is a family of manpower cost models used to forecast the life cycle cost of a new system by year for each Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). The models incorporate data from a variety of sources and compute cost elements such as military compensation, recruiting, training and medical support for each MOS. The output is used to develop the most cost-efficient system and develop a cost-effective manpower and hardware configuration for the system.
IMPRINT, developed by the Human Research & Engineering Directorate of the U. S. Army Research Laboratory, is a stochastic network modeling tool designed to help assess the interaction of soldier and system performance throughout the system life-cycle--from concept and design through field testing and system upgrades. IMPRINT is the integrated, Windows follow-on to the Hardware vs. Manpower III (HARDMAN III) suite of nine separate tools. IMPRINT is appropriate for use as both a system design and acquisition tool and a research tool. IMPRINT can be used to help set realistic system requirements; to identify soldier-driven constraints on system design; and to evaluate the capability of available manpower and personnel to effectively operate and maintain a system under environmental stressors. IMPRINT incorporates task analysis, workload modeling, performance shaping and degradation functions and stressors, a personnel projection model and embedded personnel characteristics data. IMPRINT uses Micro Saint, an embedded discrete event task network modeling language, as its engine. Task-level information is used to construct networks representing the flow and the performance time and accuracy for operational and maintenance missions. IMPRINT is used to model both crew and individual soldier performance. For some analyses, workload profiles are generated so that crew-workload distribution and soldier-system task allocation can be examined. Using the "Advanced" workload method (which is essentially the same as the WinCrew tool capability) detailed interface designs can be evaluated, as can workload coping strategies. In other cases, maintainer workload is assessed along with the resulting system availability. Also, using embedded algorithms, IMPRINT models the effects of personnel characteristics, training frequency, and environmental stressors on the overall system performance. Manpower requirements estimates can be generated for a single system, a unit, or Army-wide. IMPRINT outputs can be used as a basis for estimating manpower lifecycle costs. The minimum requirements are an IBM-compatible PC running Windows 95, or Windows NT, 32MB RAM, minimum of 50MB disk space, and VGA monitor. No additional software is required although IMPRINT is copy and paste compatible with popular Windows text editors, spreadsheets, and graphing packages. Input requirements vary according to type of analysis performed. Examples of input include mission-function-task breakdown, task time and accuracy, failure consequence, system-subsystem-component breakdown, mean operational units between failure (MOUBF), level of environmental stressors (e.g., heat, cold, noise, etc.). IMPRINT outputs also vary depending on the particular analysis performed. Reports range from detailed task timelines, diagnostic reports of subfunction and tasks failures, and overall mission success reports. Other reports include detailed workload timelines and percent-time in a high workload condition. Still others include time spent in direct maintenance and overall system availability and readiness. The various analysis capabilities in IMPRINT provide output appropriate for use by the system design and acquisition communities, MANPRINT practitioners, researchers, managers and decision and policy makers. For further information, please contact: U.S. Army Research Laboratory—Human Research and Engineering Directorate (ARL-HRED)
Website: http://www.arl.mil/ARL-Directorates/HRED/imb/imprint.htm E-MAIL: lallende@arl.mil
Early Comparability Analysis (ECA) Early Comparability Analysis (ECA) provides systematic, standardized procedures for evaluating soldier tasks. During the conduct of an ECA, currently fielded equipment is selected to serve as an analytical "stand-in" for the new or proposed weapon system. (Usually the stand-in equipment is the predecessor to the new system.) Experts who work with the selected equipment are queried, using standardized questions, to identify problem tasks performed (i.e., high driver tasks). The standardized questions concern task learning difficulty, learning decay rate, task frequency, percentage of time performing task, and time to train task. Similar data is collected from other sources. The high driver tasks are identified for the purpose of assuring that similar problem tasks do not recur on the new system. The analysis can also have the secondary benefit of identifying ways to lessen these impacts on the existing system(s). For further information, please contact:
WinCrew WinCrew is the ideal tool for studying systems when a central issue is whether the humans will be able to handle the workload. It allows the system analyst to predict and assess changes in system performance as a result of varying function allocation, number of operators or crew, level of automation, task design, mode of information presentation, and response to high workload. Through iterative use, the analyst can determine high drivers affecting human and system performance. WinCrew is most useful before Milestone II, both for identifying feasible crewstation designs and for evaluating prototypes and mock-ups of proposed crewstation systems. Human Factors analysts and project managers involved in source selection evaluation boards, required operational capability formulation, and proof-of-principle activities will find WinCrew valuable. A background in operations research analysis, basic task analysis methods, and workload concepts, are helpful for using the tool. However, a bachelor's degree in a Human Factors Engineering related field is usually sufficient. Sponsor: U.S. Army Research Laboratory—Human Research and Engineering Directorate (ARL-HRED) POC: Mr. John Lockett, (410) 278-5875, DSN 298-5875.
Operator Workload Knowledge-Based Expert System Tool (OWLKNEST) OWLKNEST is a microcomputer-based methodology that guides selection of the appropriate techniques for assessing operator workload in developing Army systems. The outputs of OWLKNEST serve as a guide to indicate the order in which the user should consider applying the techniques. Sponsor: Army Research Institute
HARDMAN Comparability Methodology (HCM) The HARDMAN (Hardware vs. Manpower) Comparability Methodology (HCM) provides a structured technique for estimating the manpower, personnel, and training resource requirements associated with a new system. As the name suggests, HCM utilizes comparability analysis techniques. The new system’s manpower requirements are estimated using data on existing systems/subsystems/components that closely match the new system, in terms of functionality and supportability. Personnel requirements are developed by applying historical flow rates to the estimated manpower requirements for each Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) involved in maintaining, operating, and supporting the system. Existing training courses of instruction are modified to reflect the expected training requirements of the new system, and annual graduate and instructor requirements are also computed. The HCM analysis should be performed very early in the acquisition process, and should be updated as information on the new system becomes available. HARDMAN has historically been an expensive, time-intensive process requiring a mainframe computer. For those reasons, a complete HARDMAN application is impractical. However, the basic methodology is sound and portions (steps) may be used to meet specific needs. For more information, please contact:
Parameter Assessment List—MANPRINT Automated Tool Edition (PAL-MATE) To support the assessment process of MANPRINT’s newest domain, called Soldier Survivability, the Army Research Laboratory’s Human Research and Engineering Directorate and Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate have developed an assessment guideline, referred to as the Parameter Assessment List (PAL). The List consists of rating sheets which outline a series of issues under each of six broad categories. This methodology is a paper-and-pencil process. The completion of the rating sheets can be a time consuming and onerous process. An automated version was created to alleviate these problems. Additionally, because multiple agencies contribute to an assessment, an automated format will provide more conformity in domain report assessment and preparation. The PAL-MATE is a PC-based automated version of the PAL. PAL-MATE, like the manual PAL, is a comprehensive accounting of what to rate, but not how to rate it. The tool’s features include: (a) a user-friendly front-end interface; (b) a menu to easily select a given portion of the PAL to work on; (c) rating sheet screens; (d) navigation aids; (e) embedded user guide; (f) provision for easy changes to be made to the issues contained in the rating sheets (additions, deletions, edits); (g) roll-up of information from the issue level to the component-level summary sheets; (h) search function; (i) glossary; and (j) report generation. IMPLEMENTATION: IBM compatible with at least 386 CPU, 4 megabytes RAM, hard disk drive with 15 megabytes of free space, Windows 3.1 (or higher). Sponsors: U.S. Army Research Laboratory—Human Research and Engineering Directorate.
Name: Mr. Richard Zigler There are a number of automated tools which are used along with testing and experimentation in the survivability work involved with personnel and/or systems in the areas of ballistics, atmospherics and obscurants, nuclear warfare, biological warfare, chemical warfare, and electronic warfare. For further information, contract ARL-SLAD and/or review the ARL-SLAD web site at http://www-slad.arl.mil/" MANPRINT GUIDEBOOK FOR SYSTEMS' DESIGN & ASSESSMENT, July 1997 This paper tool is intended to be a training aid for the new MANPRINT practitioner and a convenient reminder checklist for an experienced MANPRINT assessor. It provides a domain-specific listing of what one should look for in assessing a system. As such, the checklist makes up a rating guide and gives the practitioner a feel for the typical coverage of each domain; it can also serve the same purpose for the program manager's office. Sponsor:
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Copyright © 1998, 1999 U.S.
Army.
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