Task Management Strategies Research Articles

Flight Crew Task Management in Non-Normal Situations

Task management (TM) is always performed on the flight deck, although not always explicitly, consistently, or rigorously. Nowhere is TM as important as it is in dealing with non-normal situations. The objective of this study was to analyze pilot TM behavior for non-normal situations. Specifically, the study observed pilots' performance in a full workload environment in order to discern their TM strategies. This study identified four different TM prioritization and allocation strategies: ‘Aviate-Navigate-Communicate-Manage Systems’; ‘Perceived Severity;’ ‘Procedure Based;’ and ‘Event/Interrupt Driven.’ Subjects used these strategies to manage their personal workload and to schedule monitoring and assessment of the situation. The ‘Perceived Severity’ strategy for personal workload management combined with the ‘Aviate-Navigate-Communicate- Manage Systems’ strategy for monitoring and assessing appeared to be the most effective (fewest errors and fastest response times) in responding to the novel system failure used in this study.

Family Food Shopping: Strategies Used by Husbands and Wives

This research explored comparisons between matched pairs of husbands and wives on a system of strategies used to do family food shopping. Generally, husbands and wives were similar in strategies which related to time management, store loyalty, and in‐store shopping. There were notable anomalies in the conceptualization of some of the strategies, as well as significant differences in the use of task management strategies to prepare for food shopping and in the importance of various store characteristics. Suggestions for research are based on extending the role theory and systems approach in studying family food shopping.