Ease of Learning Alternative TOS Message Reference Codes.

摘要

To interact with a tactical data processing system such as the DEVTOS or TOS2, action officers and UIOD operators must correctly enter a message reference code. The senior author had participated in recommending that DEVTOS' letter-letter-number (LL no.) codes be replaced by LLLL message reference codes for the forthcoming TOS2 system, predicting in effect that the LLLL codes would be easier to learn. To confirm or disprove this prediction, 40 officers and 20 enlisted personnel were employed to learn one or the other of the code sets. Seated individually at a computer terminal, the learner was shown message category titles and action names. The learner entered the message reference code, transmitted it, and received feedback as to the correctness or incorrectness of his input, plus the correct code. The error rate associated with the learning of the LLLL codes was less than half that associated with the learning of the LL no. codes (13% versus 29% for EM working on the G2 message codes; 11% versus 21% for officers on the same G2 message codes; and 7% versus 15% errors for officers working on G3 message codes). The LLLL codes were learned in about 60% of the total time required by the LL no. codes. Analysis of error rates by character position revealed that the old code's numeric character and arbitrary second letter were large sources of error. Several characters in the LLLL code produced undesirably high error rates; the reasons for this and possible corrections were usually obvious. (Author)