Use of SWAT in Usaf System T & E

Many of today's complex military systems place critical performance demands upon the men and women who must operate them. Operational test and evaluation of these systems has long required the assessment of operator behavior within the context of system performance. Interest in estimating the effect on operator performance of system demands not specifically examined during the test led to adding assessment of operator workload to the T & E process. The Subjective Workload Evaluation Technique (SWAT) rating scale was employed in a field evaluation of a system requiring skilled personnel to operate semi-automated equipment. Discussed are the means employed to identify tasks of interest, the acceptance of SWAT by the operators performing the ratings, and the nature of the system problems identified by use of the technique.