Exploring the Use of Microworld Models to Train Army Logistics Management Skills

The authors performed a study to assess the effectiveness of using microworlds to train Army logisticians. Sponsored by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command, the study was part of an effort to design new training for an emerging organization in the Army--the Theater Support Command (TSC)--which, among other things, is responsible for managing the flow of people and material throughout the theater of operations. The authors designed a three-hour training curriculum around a microworld model that represents a simplified, but dynamic, model of the distribution management process. The main goal of the session was to teach the learners about the consequences of their decisions over time and across the distribution management system. Participants in the microworld-based training sessions improved significantly in their ability to identify problematic trends in a distribution network and to evaluate the impacts of those trends.