WOMBAT-CS

Version 6

Candidate's Manual
Electronic Edition

Aero Innovation inc.

www.aero.ca
 Familiarization with
WOMBAT-CS
Candidate's Manual

This manual should be

read attentively by the candidate
before commencing the practice period
that precedes WOMBAT-CS.

For software version CS

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The use of this booklet and any other WOMBAT material must be
authorized in writing by Aero Innovation's Headquarters. Unauthorized
reproduction of any kind, for advertisement, scientific articles, journals,
brochures, newspapers, magazines, internal documents, company
manuals, printed, electronic or photographic, whether the sources
are mentioned or not, will be considered a breach of copyright and
prosecuted accordingly.

Edition 23, 2011

Copyright Aero Innovation Inc. 1991-2011
All rights reserved
Table of Contents

Foreword....................................................................................4
Candidate Identification..............................................................5
Instructions Period......................................................................6
WOMBAT Console.....................................................................7
Right Trigger.........................................................................8
The Overall WOMBAT-CS Test..................................................9
The Tracking Task....................................................................10
Using the Left-Hand Stick......................................................... 11
Velocity control................................................................... 11
Acceleration control............................................................ 11
Using the Right-Hand Stick......................................................13
Combined Tracking-Task Performance....................................14
WOMBAT's Autotrack Mode.....................................................15
Tracking Worth.........................................................................17
The Bonus Pouch.....................................................................18
Figure-Rotation Task..........................................................19
Quadrant-Location Task.....................................................20
Digit-Canceling Task...........................................................21
The Bonus Pouch Menu.....................................................22
Worth and Performance: A Winning Combination....................23
Ready for the Instructions?......................................................24

WOMBAT-CS Candidate's ManualEdition 23.................................................... Page 3

Foreword

WOMBAT-CS is a computerized test that measures your ability

to manage a complex system (CS) by presenting you situations
and evaluating how you react to those situations.

Before you take the test, you will get to sit down at the WOMBAT
computer and learn without any scoring how each of the differ-
ent parts of the computer and the test will work together as a
complex system.

This manual is your introduction to the complete instructions that

will precede the WOMBAT-CS test. It does not replace those
pretest instructions. Its purpose is to familiarize you with the basic
vocabulary, the structure, and the control operations before you sit
down at the WOMBAT computer and begin those instructions.

If you ever need more explanation about WOMBAT, be sure to

ask your supervisor before the test begins.

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Candidate Identification

The first thing WOMBAT will ask you to do is to enter your refer-
ence number.

Your supervisor will guide you in these steps, giving you the refer-
ence number and other information you have to provide. WOMBAT
needs this information because it keeps track of everyone who has
taken the test before. Your supervisor will also be able to retrieve
your score from WOMBATs database for further evaluating.

The WOMBAT console and display.

WOMBAT-CS Candidate's ManualEdition 23.................................................... Page 5

Instructions Period

After identifying yourself to WOMBAT, you will go through some

instruction pages that are reviews of what you will read in this
manual. You will alternate between instruction pages and practice
sessions. Each practice session will cover one aspect of WOM-
BAT at a time.

No scores will be recorded during the instructions period. Only

in the test will all the different tasks be simultaneously available
and scored.

Your test administrator will tell you about the maximum time al-
lowed for the instructions period. On the last page of instructions,
you will see a clock showing how much time you have left before
the test begins. As long as there is some time remaining, you can
go back to any instructions page you wish to review. Once the
instructions period is over, you will be committed to go through
the complete test.You will not be able to go back to the instruc-
tions during the test, so you should use the time allowed in the
exercise/instruction phases wisely.

If you need to use the washroom, make sure you come back be-
fore the instructions period is over, otherwise the test will begin
without you. Once started, the test cannot be stopped.

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WOMBAT Console

The WOMBAT console includes two joysticks and a special

keypad.

The WOMBAT console

The keypad is very sensitive. To indicate it has received a signal

from the candidate, the computer will produce a sound ("click")
each time a button is depressed on the console, and again when
the button is released. On the WOMBAT's display, each functional
button will be indicated by its legend within a colored rectangular
box.

1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 0 Bonus

WOMBAT
The WOMBAT keypad

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WOMBAT Console: Right Trigger

On the WOMBAT console, each joystick includes a spring-loaded

red trigger switch. Only the RIGHT trigger switch is used in WOM-
BAT. Its function is indicated on the graphics display screen by
the word Trigger surrounded by a rectangle. You will learn the
function of the Trigger and when to use it later.

Trigger
In the practice sessions, you will be given opportunities to use
each of the control devices by itself to control part of the WOM-
BAT test.

The RIGHT trigger

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The Overall WOMBAT-CS Test

The WOMBAT test measures your ability to recognize situations

and react to them (your situational awareness) as you manage a
complex system. The more situational awareness you have and
use, the more points you can score.

The complex system you will have to manage has four different
tasks (the Tracking Task and three Bonus Tasks: Figure Rotation,
Quadrant Location, and Digit Canceling) that contribute to the
total score. Your performance will be measured on each of these
tasks: the better your performance the more points you can earn
from that task. In addition, each task has a value (or "worth"),
which changes during the test: the higher the worth the more
points you can earn from that task with the same performance.
Throughout the test, watch the indicators that tell you the present
worth of each task.

Earning many points requires good performance on each of the

tasks and good choices about which task to perform at any given
time, because those choices can have effects (good or bad) on
the worths of tasks to come. This is the secret of the test.

The first task you will learn about is the Tracking Task. Later, you
will learn about the three Bonus Tasks.

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The Tracking Task

The Tracking Task is the primary task for the entire WOMBAT test
in the sense that it must be monitored at all times and attended
to frequently. In this task, you will use both control sticks to move
yellow cursors on the WOMBAT screen and attempt to follow
moving blue targets in two different modes.

The figure below represents the Tracking Task. The following

pages will describe each function you have to perform.

The illustration above represents theTrackingTask as it appears on theWOMBAT display.The left-hand

TrackingTaskdealswithanexpanding/contractinghexagonandtwobarpairswiththeirassociatedpredictor
circles.Theright-handTrackingTaskdealswithamovingcircleandacrosswithitsassociatedpredictorcircle.
YouwillperformtheTrackingTaskwithbothhandsafterhavinglearnedeachhand'sfunctionseparately.

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Using the Left-Hand Stick

The left stick controls the left/right separation of two pairs of short
vertical lines (as shown below) in two different modes: velocity
control and acceleration control.

There is a small circle that is shifted away from the center of each
pair of vertical lines by a distance that is proportional to and in
the direction of the stick displacement (shown above for left stick
pushed forward.) Each small circle is connected by a line to the
center of the pair of vertical lines.

Velocity control

In velocity control, the vertical lines are stationary until the stick
is moved. Pushing the stick forward from spring center makes
the two pairs of lines move away from the display center, and the
farther the stick is pushed, the faster the movement is. Pulling
the stick backward from spring center reverses the direction of
motion, causing the pairs of lines to move inward.

Acceleration control

In acceleration control, the stick determines the rate at which

the velocity changes. At spring center, the velocity remains fixed,
so the pairs of lines move toward or away from the display center
at a steady rate.

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Using the Left-Hand Stick (continued)

Using
Pushing thethe Left-Hand
stick forward from spring center causes the velocity
away from display center to increase (or velocity toward the display
center to decrease), while pulling the stick the other way causes
the velocity away from the display center to decrease (or veloc-
ity toward the display center to increase). The farther the stick is
displaced from spring center, the faster the velocity changes.

Whether in velocity control or acceleration control, the task is

to keep the two pairs of vertical bars over the two vertical sides of
a hexagon that expands and contracts in size around the center
of the display. By keeping the bar pairs (the cursors) over the left
and right sides of the hexagon (the targets), you will maximize
your left-hand tracking score. When the targets are outside the
bar pairs, the rate of scoring will drop with increasing tracking
error to a minimum of zero.

There will be practice sessions of the left-hand tracking where

the left stick will be in velocity-control mode and others with it
in acceleration-control mode, with and without the targets.

target

target

Theillustrationaboverepresentstheblueexpanding/contractinghexagoninthecenterandthetwoyellow
barpairsyouwillcontrolwiththeconsole'sleftstick.Thetwosmallpredictorcirclesshowtheleftstickbeing
pushedforward.Thisactionwillmakethebarpairsmoveaway(ifinvelocity-controlmode)oraccelerateaway
(if in acceleration-control mode) from the center of the display, in the direction of the predictor circles.

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Using the Right-Hand Stick

The right-hand stick controls the position of a small cross on the

screen using the same modes (velocity or acceleration) as the
left-hand stick. Both sticks will always be in the same control
mode at any given time. Left and right movement of the right
stick controls left and right position of the cross, and forward and
backward movement controls the up and down position.

There is a small circle that is shifted away from the center of the
cross by an amount proportional to and in the direction of the
stick displacement (shown below for right stick pushed forward
and to the right). A line connects the center of the circle to the
center of the cross.

Your right-hand tracking task is to maintain the position of the

cross within the boundaries of the same size target circle. This
will produce the maximum right-stick Tracking-Performance score.
The score will decline to 0 as the error between the cross and the
target edge increases.

There will be a practice sessions of the right-hand tracking where

the right stick will be in velocity-control mode and others with it
in acceleration-control mode, with and without the target.

target

Theillustrationaboverepresentstheyellowcrossyouwillcontrolwiththeconsole'srightstick.Thesmall
predictorcircle(connectedbyalinetothecenterofthecross)indicatesthattherightstickispushedforward
andtotheright.Thisactionwillhelpmovethecrosstowardthemovingbluetargetcircle,reducingthetracking
error. The goal is to keep the center of the cross within the boundaries of the moving target circle.

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Combined Tracking-Task Performance

When the left and right tracking tasks are performed together, the
combined score is displayed on the Tracking Worth-Performance
Indicator. This indicator will always be visible in the upper-left
corner of the display. It is scaled from "Zero Performance" at the
bottom to "Maximum Performance" at the top.

Maximum Performance
"Very good !"

Zero Performance
"Something is wrong"

TheillustrationaboveshowstheTrackingWorth-PerformanceIndicatoralwaysvisibleintheupperleftcorner
of theWOMBAT display. Right now it is showing a less than perfectTracking Performance (P) at reduced
TrackingWorth(W).TheTrackingPerformancedependsonthedistance(or"error")thatseparatesthetwo
barpairsfromtheverticalsidesofthehexagonorthecenterofthecrossfromthetargetcricle.TheTracking
Worth will be explained on Page 17 of this manual.

Your primary task in the WOMBAT test will be to track the

left and right targets as well as you can and thus achieve the
highest combined tracking score that you can.

When the tracking is perfect, the Tracking Performance will be at

its highest. When the tracking is less than perfect, the Tracking
Performance will decrease in proportion to the distance between
the blue targets and the yellow cursors you are controlling. Re-
member that the higher your performance is, the more points you
will accumulate. Good tracking techniques are therefore essential
for maximum Tracking Performance.

There will be a practice session where you will see the two bar
pairs, the variable hexagon, the cursor cross, the target circle,
and the performance indicator, and the sticks will be in veloc-
ity-control mode, followed by a similar session in acceleration-
control mode.

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WOMBAT's Autotrack Mode

An automatic tracking mode called "Autotrack" is available for

you to delegate the Tracking Task to the computer. It will be en-
gaged or disengaged with the trigger on the right-hand control.
The active mode will be indicated by solid lines around one of
the display legends, MANUAL or AUTOTRACK, and dashed lines
around the other.

AUTOTRACK AUTOTRACK
or

MANUAL MANUAL

To engage the Autotrack mode, you must first track the targets
with the left and right control sticks within the indicated error limits
to produce the maximum Tracking-Performance score and then
pull the trigger. When either the vertical lines (left-stick targets)
are not between the pairs of bars (left-stick cursors) or the cross
(right-stick cursor) is not within the circle (right-stick target), pulling
the trigger in the manual mode will have no effect.

In the Autotrack mode, the sticks become inactive and the stick-
position indicators return to the spring-center locations. Pulling the
trigger on the right stick will immediately disengage the Autotrack
mode and return the sticks to the active state.

You will have two practice sessions for engaging and disengaging
WOMBATs Autotrack mode in velocity-control and acceleration-
control mode.

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WOMBAT's Autotrack Mode (continued)

To complicate the WOMBAT Complex System test, the Autotrack

mode has been designed to fail frequently and these failures
can be detected at any time by keeping an eye on the Tracking
Performance indicator. When Autotrack mode fails, it does not
disengage, it continues in Autotrack mode with its ability to track
the target motions decreased.

To restore the Autotrack mode function, you must first disengage

the failed Autotrack mode with the right-stick trigger and track
manually. For some period of time following Autotrack mode failure,
the Autotrack mode is under repair and unavailable. This state is
indicated by the trigger symbol filled in RED on the display.

Trigger
The "Trigger" box is filled with RED

Even if you manually track to achieve a perfect Tracking-Perfor-

mance score and pull the trigger while this symbol is displayed,
the Autotrack mode will not engage.

You will have practice sessions in velocity-control and accel-

eration-control that will begin with the Autotrack mode active
and engaged. It will soon fail so you can practice disengaging
the Autotrack mode, tracking manually, and then re-engaging it
when it becomes available again.

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Tracking Worth

As was stated on Page 9, each task in the WOMBAT test has its
own worth, which changes many times during the test. The secret
of taking the WOMBAT test is making choices that lead to high
worths for each of the tasks and that score many points when a
task is performed well.

The Tracking Worth is influenced by the Tracking mode (velocity

or acceleration), your performance in detecting and managing
Autotrack failures, and when you last executed a Bonus Task.

During an Autotrack failure, if you allow Tracking Performance to

drop below a certain level, a penalty will be applied in the form
of a reduction in the Tracking Worth. However, if you keep the
Tracking Performance above another, higher level, the Tracking
Worth may actually be increased. If you never play Bonus
Tasks, but track targets all the time, the Tracking Worth will
decline slowly until it reaches zero. Each time you complete
a Bonus Task, the Tracking Worth will be reset to its full value for
the current Tracking mode and penalty situation.

NOTE: The area of this rectangle

representsyourcurrentscoringrate.
The greater the area, the greater the
number of points being earned.

Zero Worth Maximum Worth

(Do something!) (Very good!)

TheillustrationaboveshowstheTrackingWorth-PerformanceIndicatoralwaysvisibleintheupperleftcorner
of theWOMBAT display.The letter "W" indicates theTrackingWorth for the currentTracking mode and
penaltysituation.YoucaninfluencetheTrackingWorthbyfrequentlyplayingBonusTasksandmanaging
well the Autotrack failures. Keep an eye on this indicator.

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The Bonus Pouch

The designers of WOMBAT expect that each of you should achieve

a high tracking score and manage the Autotrack mode so easily
that everyone would earn about the same score based on the
Tracking Task alone.

So, to distinguish those with higher and lower situational aware-

ness, three additional tasks, called Figure Rotation, Quadrant
Location, and Digit Canceling, are available for you to earn
"Bonus points" in 60-second trials.

BO
S

NU
When the tracking task is under AUTOTRACK's control and you
wish to earn some bonus points, press the Bonus button on the
keypad. This will switch you to the Bonus Pouch and remove the
Tracking Task from the screen. Only the Tracking Worth-Perfor-
mance Indicator will remain so that you can continue to monitor
that task. Pressing the Bonus button again at any time will sus-
pend the Bonus Task for later resumption and return WOMBAT
to the Tracking Task.

You will be given practice periods that start with the Tracking Task
where you can press the Bonus button to switch to the Bonus
Pouch to practice each of the three Bonus Tasks.

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The Bonus Pouch, Figure-Rotation Task

This bonus task will display two 3-D figures side-by-side. One figure
will be inside a solid square and the other figure will be inside a
dashed square. The solid square means that you can rotate the
figure using the two sticks; it is the active figure. The dashed
square means this figure is standing by and can be made active
by pressing the corresponding arrow on the console.
Using both sticks,
you can rotate the
active figure until
you know all the
details of its con-
struction. Press
the appropriate
arrow to make the
other figure active,
so you can rotate it This task will display two 3-D figures.You can rotate each figure,
also. one at a time, using the joy sticks.

The goal of this exercise is to find out, as fast as you can, whether
the two figures are:

identical,
mirror symmetric (mirror images of each other), or
different in some obvious way.

You earn points by giving the computer the correct answer. As

soon as you answer, the Performance and Worth are fixed and
scoring takes place until the end of the 60 seconds. If you haven't
answered, the Worth starts decreasing 15 seconds after the start
of the problem, so don't waste any time!

If your answer is correct, you may press the 4 button on the con-
sole keypad and continue with a new 3-D problem while you still
have some time left. Try to solve as many 3-D problems as you
can during the 60 seconds to earn more points. If your answer is
incorrect, you can use the rest of the 60 seconds to find out why
your answer was wrong.

WOMBAT-CS Candidate's ManualEdition 23.................................................. Page 19

The Bonus Pouch, Quadrant-Location Task

This Bonus task displays four quadrants. As shown in the illus-

tration below, each quadrant is identified by a number correspond-
ing to a button on the keypad. The 3 button corresponds to the
upper-left quadrant, the 4 button to the upper-right quadrant, the
7 button to the lower-left quadrant, and the 8 button to the lower-
right quadrant.

Consecutive numbers from 1 to 32 are placed 8 each and visible in

the four quadrants on the display. The task is to find each number
in ascending order begining with 1 and press the button on the
keypad that corresponds to the quadrant in which it lies, thereby
canceling the numbers in sequence, 1 through 32.

Keypad Display

Your score increases for each correct quadrant button pressed and
decreases for each incorrect button. You must press the correct
quadrant button for each number before going on to the next.

If all 32 numbers are found and correctly located within the 60 sec-
onds allotted, then the rate of scoring continues for the remaining
time. If you make few errors, you will be offered the chance to
press the 4 button on the keypad to play another sequence and
earn even more points during the time remaining.

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The Bonus Pouch, Digit-Canceling Task

In this task, single digits (1 to 8) will be displayed briefly at set

time intervals in the square at the center of the display. Starting
with the third digit displayed, as soon as each new digit appears,
you should press the button on the keypad matching the digit
displayed two back in the sequence.

For example, in the figure above, the digit "2" has just been shown
on the WOMBAT display, so the candidate is about to cancel the
"two-back" digit "6". Once this action has been completed, another
digit will be shown on the display, and then the candidate should
cancel digit "5" which is next in sequence. You must press a
digit button, correct or incorrect, or you will not see the next
digit in the sequence.

The interval between the digits is constant thoughout the 60

seconds. Each time you start a new Digit-Canceling task, the
interval is adjusted according to how fast and how accurate you
were during your last attempt at the task. The better you were, the
shorter the interval will become and the higher the Bonus-Task
Worth will be made.

You will win points for each correct response and lose points for
each incorrect response or delay in making a response.

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Bonus: The Bonus Pouch Menu

When the WOMBAT test is in the Tracking Task with no suspended

Bonus Task, pressing the Bonus button on the keypad will display
the Bonus-Pouch menu (see figure below). The same menu will
also appear each time a Bonus Task ends.

On the menu, each variable Bonus Worth is displayed by a small

horizontal indicator similar to the Worth indicators shown on Page
17 of this manual. The longer the horizontal indicator is, the greater
the Worth of the respective Bonus Task.

You can choose any Bonus Task regardless of its worth by pressing
the keys 1, 5 or 9 on the WOMBAT keypad. Remember, however,
that the higher the Worth, the more points are available for you to
earn. After you choose a Bonus Task, its worth will be decreased
while the worths of the other Bonus Tasks will be increased. The
worths of all Bonus Tasks will be reduced when the Autotrack
mode fails, and they increase after you re-engage Autotrack.

Bonus Pouch Options

Figure
Rotation

Quadrant
Location

Digit
Canceling

ThisrepresentstheBonus-Pouchmenu.Inthisexample,theFigure-Rotationtaskisworthlessthantheother
tasks.IfthecandidateselectstheDigit-Cancelingtaskbypressingonthe9key,theWorthofthattaskwillbe
decreasedslightlythenexttimetheBonusmenuappears,whilethetwootherWorthswillbeincreased.

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Worth and Performance: A Winning Combination

The Tracking and Bonus-Pouch Worths are displayed at the top

of the display. Each indicator has a W at the bottom.

<

<
Tra
ckin

Bo
g

nu
s
Your overall scoring rate depends on the areas of the
rectangles displayed by the two indicators. Try to keep
both rectangles as large as you can, all the time.

The areas of the two rectangles are added and the

sum determines how fast the base of the thermometer
triangle (which shows your overall score) rises on the
scale at right throughout the test.

The "sharpness" or height of the triangle shows

how fast your overall score is accumulating: a tall
triangle means you are doing well, and a short tri-
angle means that something is wrong and you should
change strategy.

The "predicted" final score is continually extrapolated

from the present overall score, the overall scoring
rate, and the time remaining. This extrapolated final
score is displayed on the scale as a line that has an
E (for END) on the left.

You should attempt to maximize your final score by

skillful performance during the WOMBAT test.

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Ready for the Instructions?

When you have read through this manual up to this page you
should be ready to sit down at the WOMBAT computer and begin
the instructions period. You will have some idea how the different
parts of the WOMBAT console control the WOMBAT-CS test, and
you will have been introduced to many of the terms that will be
used in the instruction phases. Much of the text in this book will
be repeated or restated there, but the practice sessions will give
you the chance to actually try the different actions that can only be
described in words or shown in static pictures in this manual.

Remember, your overall goal is to come to the end of the

test with as many points as possible. To achieve this goal
you will have to learn what is going on, remain alert to
changing conditions, and exercise good judgment.
Good luck !

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