Measuring the effectiveness of a "decision matrix" for missile retargeting decisions

The U.S. Navy recently developed a version of the Tomahawk Missile that can be retargeted while in flight. This new version, called the Tactical Tomahawk Missile, requires en route monitoring, control, and oversight by human operators. Previous research led to the design, implementation, and testing of a graphical multiuser interface system for human supervisory control of a missile "strike" (multiple missile fired together to various targets). The purpose of this study was to test the merits of a decision matrix as a high-level decision making aid, to validate previous findings about how missile load affects performance. Forty-two University of Virginia students participated as subjects. Missile level varied between 8, 12, and 16 missile, and interface type varied between having the decision matrix or not. The results confirmed that the decision matrix is a useful tool, but they failed to verify previous missile loading estimates.