Applied warfighter ergonomics a research method for evaluating military individual equipment

Abstract

The objective of this research effort is to design and implement a laboratory and establish a research method focused on scientific evaluation of human factors considerations for military individual equipment under both laboratory and field conditions. This integrated approach for laboratory and field conditions is the first of its kind for military human factors research, enabling an unparalleled degree of scientific rigor in the collection of empirical human factors data. This effort includes: 1) a state-of-the-art usability laboratory designed specifically for quantitatively evaluating military individual equipment

2) a rugged, embarkable, fully self-contained, portable usability laboratory for field research in military environments

3) a codified manual for using the two main configurations (stationary and portable) of the usability laboratory, written for the beginning usability researcher

4) a set of validated procedures for applying sound human factors principles, and traditional and non-parametric statistics to the specific problem of usability testing of military individual equipment

5) a proof-of-concept practical application of the laboratory and procedures to a specific problem, namely the usability testing of ruggedized personal digital assistants (RPDAs) designed for United States Special Forces operations.