Constructing a battlespace to understand macroergonomic factors in team situation awareness

As socio-technical systems increase the capability to acquire, analyze, and disseminate information, the concept of a multi-dimensional battlespace has been developed as a means to understand the ways a myriad of socio-cogtiitive / macroergonomic factors interact and impact the execution of a plan of action. Defined within this battlespace are various ways in which individual actors and teams of actors can access information and the impact their decisions will have on the overall evolved problem space. Although convenient for conceptualizing the many complexities and dimensionalities involved in the modern military decision making environment, a specific battlespace often lacks substance. Being aware of the dynamics and intricacies of the battlespace is a key determinant of whether team situation awareness is present, so without a contextual definition it has little value in understanding or improving the military decision making process. In this paper, the methods and results of constructing a battlespace using fuzzy cognitive maps will be described. The example was developed as part of a multi-team exercise that constructed rules of engagement for tasking various Air Force assets dealing with SCUD attacks in a hypothetical North Korean attack against Sooth Korea.