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Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-93/1

Title and Subtitle: Conversion of the CTA, Inc., En Route Operations Concepts Database Into a Formal Sentence Outline Job Task Taxonomy

Report Date: January 1993

Authors: Rogers, M.D. and Drechsler, G.K.

Abstract: FAA Air Traffic Control Operations Concepts Volume VI: ARTCC-Host En Route Controllers (1990) developed by CTA, Inc., a technical description of the duties of an En Route air traffic control specialist (ATCS), formatted in User Interface Language, was restructured into a hierarchical formal sentence outline. To ensure that none of the meaning associated with a task or task element was lost during the conversion, the revised document was reviewed by subject matter experts (SMEs) consisting of five groups of six En Route controllers and a quality assurance subject matter expert. SMEs looked for words, phrases, or acronyms not commonly used by En Route controllers, and illogical sequencing of duties described in the document.

Appropriate suggestions for change were implemented into the document before the next review. Five-hundred seventy-five changes were made to the document, with only two of these changes made during the final review, confirming that an improved document resulted from the research. The restructured document is intended to assist in the identification of tasks not performed or performed incorrectly during the commission of an operational error. However, an easily understood, detailed description of duties performed by an En Route ATCS has potential not only for use by researchers interested in En Route ATCS tasks, but also by quality assurance investigation teams and training personnel.

Key Words: Air traffic, Job tasks, Human fators, Training

No. of Pages: 77