Task Analysis Data Processing and Enhanced Representations (TAPER)

Task Analysis (TA) is a fundamental part of NASA system design and validation. TAs are used to produce Master Task Lists that support engineering teams and operations specialists during development and validation of system design and procedures. However, current tools make it difficult to share TA insights between collaborators and do not adequately manage, maintain, and visualize complex TA data sets, making it challenging to integrate new data to support an iterative design and procedure development process. Improved TA tools that can better manage and visualize TA results have the potential to mitigate these shortcomings. Charles River Analytics proposes to design and demonstrate a system for Task Analysis Data Processing and Enhanced Representations (TAPER). TAPER will: (1) manage TA data through a modern web service-based data management framework that enables scalable storage, querying, and access to TA data between teams; (2) enable import and export of TA data that supports multiple forms of model development, including cognitive simulation, through a model representation engine; and (3) provide visualizations of TA data models tailored to the unique information needs of different users. Meeting these requirements will dramatically improve TA-supported collaborative design and development in large-scale engineering efforts.

We expect the full-scope Task Analysis Data Processing and Enhanced Representations (TAPER) to have immediate and tangible benefit for NASA. In particular, TAPER will help maintain and track updates to Task Analyses as inputs to Master Task Lists (MTL), and communicate that information across engineering teams on large scale engineering projects. We will extend through a representative and targeted Requirements Analysis of the NASA Task Analysis process by incorporating the innovations developed under TAPER. Implementing these tools will enable scientists conducting TAs, engineers performing system design, and operations specialists developing procedures throughout the engineering process. TAPER's data management and model import services will also enable more effective testing and sharing of TA models when combined with novel TA model visualizations that support scientists, engineers, and operations specialists. These capabilities will ultimately result in increased utility of TA results to support system design, procedure development, and the validation of design and procedures.

We see two approaches to commercializing the technologies developed under this program. First, they can be licensed to other commercial entities that will use them directly or incorporate them as added functionality to their commercial products. In particular, we will look at businesses that use Task Analysis as part of their requirements development process as potential licensees of this technology. Second, we will incorporate this new technology into our AgentWorks' software, which will both increase its appeal as a commercial product and enable us to use the tool to provide consulting services based on AgentWorks to customers within the DoD, other Federal agencies, and commercial markets.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.