Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2003

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

College of Technology

First Advisor

Ernest Savage

Second Advisor

David. P. Beach

Third Advisor

Angelo Brown

Abstract

The Space Transportation Information Network (STIN) was developed to solve the challenge of managing a geographically disparate NASA program. By its nature, this "enterprise information portal" enhances communication, saves time, and retains expertise as a form-driven knowledge management data base. However, for the Revolutionary Turbine Accelerator Project (RTA) led by the NASA Glenn Research Center, a comprehensive STIN training program, designed specifically for RTA, had never been instituted. To help optimize STIN for this population, a training intervention model was designed and developed to clarify the purpose, policy, and technical usability of STIN. As the front-end to the training development process, the literature revealed procedures necessary to conduct a formal assessment of the RTA Project team's training needs relative to STIN, beginning with a cognitive task analysis designed to logically establish focus groups, then focus group interviews designed to harvest data relative to the team's perceptions and knowledge-needed concepts regarding STIN. Based on results from this qualitative research method, a three-module training system focusing on conceptual overview, technical manipulation, and security was identified as the training solution content, with a live-instructor lesson plan as the training delivery platform. The lesson plan was evaluated for potential effectiveness and validated by an expert panel, and will ultimately propagate to the RTA team, other NASA projects, and perhaps beyond.

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