Publication

This document is a summary of the work that was completed in the second increment year of the SERC Research Topic DO1/TTO2/0016 “Developing Systems Engineering Experience Accelerator (SEEA) Prototype and Roadmap” supported by the Defense Acquisition University (DAU). The purpose of the research project is to test the feasibility of a simulated approach for accelerating systems engineering competency development in the learner. The SEEA research project hypothesis is:

By using technology we can create a simulation that will put the learner in an experiential, emotional state and effectively compress time and greatly accelerate the learning of a systems engineer faster than would occur naturally on the job.

• The contractor shall develop, test, and pilot a stable multi-player capability. This capability shall allow experienced instructors to provide feedback to the student teams, such as explaining the outcomes of the teams’ decisions, and helping the students understand the impact of their recommendations.
• The contractor shall add a predictive capability to the SEEA to improve the students’ decision-making capabilities and produce better recommendations.
• The contractor shall develop the capability to provide dialog based on the students’ past recommendations. Currently the SEEA provides dialog based only on the current state of the simulation.
• The contractor shall make improvements to the user interface to allow students to quickly find information through status charts. Such improvements shall be compliant with Section 508 user interface requirements. 

The Experience Accelerator has continued to mature and now has a variety of compatibilities that should support experiences in numerous domains and several different single and multiplayer modes. Future research for the EA may include:

• efforts to ensure a successful DAU experience deployment,
• the extension of the scope and capabilities of the current DAU experience,
• the creation of Multi-Player Acquisition Mission Support,
• a number of potential experiences that leverage the capabilities of the SE to train and evaluate the performance of SERC MPTs, to provide a laboratory for learning assessment,
• updates and evolution of EA tools
• updates to the EA infrastructure
• and building of the EA community