1. using Sparse, Unreliable Evidence
Life & Death Decisions
using Sparse, Unreliable Evidence
Information challenges and mitigations in
front-line military environments
Purpose of the paper:
Useful to audience: Introduction to an 'extreme' information environment
Useful to authors: gather contacts and concepts from other fields to use in this one
Outline:
Brief intro to environment.
Empty Battlefield: sparseness & clutter
Sharing understanding: vocab, context, pictures
- mitigations
Martin Hill, John Salt
Sep 2010

2. Soldiers, commanders, patrols.
Human processed information, some IT support
Intro to set the scene
Current ops
Very simplified, very idealised, real world is messier

3. Low technology (not no technology, not old technology)
Low technology (not no technology, not old technology). Cameras, PDAs, USB sticks.
Reminds us that it's about people: Information to hand in IT vs in head

4. The Empty Battlefield
Picture (Iraq). Empty. Enemy is hiding

5. Sharing Understanding Operating Pictures
Blue force/red force picture
What information
How to share/commuicate it – context + changes, plus adapting
How to store it
security

6. Group Assessment Diagram – publish and subscribe
Learned/adaptive interface redefinitions (people create own languages). Lessons for distributed governance

7. Individual Assessment
Diagram – various inputs

8. Barriers to objective assessment
Cognitive load – too much stuff. Not all the information
Fear & Anger
Cultural bias
Feeds
Sparse
Drills
Adapting, liason officers
Training