Raytheon BBN Technologies

Supporting productivity in dynamic, information-dense environments

The continuous advances in information systems technology create both advantages and challenges. Expanded access to all types of information and data is an invaluable asset, but it also places unprecedented burdens on users. Many users are now expected to assimilate different kinds of information—often very quickly—and use it both to perform routine tasks and to make complex decisions. Too often, the result is information overload, which decreases rather than enhances work performance. To combat this, Raytheon BBN Technologies has designed Work Centered Support Solutions (WCSS) to take advantage of the increased information available, fusing and distilling it and finally presenting it in a context-sensitive way that accommodates human cognitive abilities and manages information overload.

Work Centered Support Solutions Improve Performance

WCSS technology is applicable to any domain and provides intuitive user interfaces customized to the specific work requirements. Evaluations of work centered support Solutions show that users improve their work performance while expending less effort.

The benefits include:
• Shorter planning times
• Greater accuracy and efficiency
• Increased situation awareness
• Reduced mental workload
• Efficiencies in replanning
• Training cost savings

Raytheon BBN’s Approach: User in the Middle

Raytheon BBN’s spiral development approach to WCSS puts the users at the center of the process to insure that our solutions support their work activities, provide relevant context, and support rapid user adaptation. By implementing an analysis and design methodology that includes a continuous feedback loop with users, Raytheon BBN Technologies develops work centered support solutions that present the right information to the right user at the right time in a single interface. This human-centered approach produces a tight coupling of human and computer, focuses on the work at hand, and supports both complex and decision-making tasks as well as routine tasks to maximize work effectiveness and efficiency while minimizing unintended consequences and information overload.