Dean Thomas

The purpose of this paper was to identify the shortcomings of a single-method approach to evaluating human-system interactions during operational testing and offer an alternative, multi-method approach that is more defensible, yields richer insights into how operators interact with weapon systems, and provides a practical implications for identifying when the quality of human-system interactions warrants correction through either operator training or redesign. Suggested Citation Thomas, Dean, Heather Wojton, Chad Bieber, and Daniel Porter....

In the increasingly complex and data‐limited world of military defense testing, statisticians play a valuable role in many applications. Before the DoD acquires any major new capability, that system must undergo realistic testing in its intended environment with military users. Although the typical test environment is highly variable and factors are often uncontrolled, design of experiments techniques can add objectivity, efficiency, and rigor to the process of test planning. Statistical analyses help system evaluators get the most information out of limited data sets....

For many systems, testing is expensive and only a few live test events are conducted. When this occurs, testers frequently use a model to extend the test results. However, testers must validate the model to show that it is an accurate representation of the real world from the perspective of the intended uses of the model. This raises a problem when only a small number of live test events are conducted, only limited data are available to validate the model, and some testers struggle with model validation....