Facilitating LOS Debriefings:
A Training Manual
Lori K. McDonnell, Kimberly K. Jobe, R. Key Dismukes
NASA Ames Research Center
Part 2. Getting Started
Clarifying Roles and Expectations: The Introduction
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The Purpose of the Introduction
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 To
explicitly state how the crew should participate m the debriefing
and how you, the instructor, will participate.
To
provide a persuasive rationale for crew-centered debriefing.
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Why Introductions are Important
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The
crew can't be expected to participate in a certain way if they are
not told how they are expected to participate. Individuals want and
need to know what is expected of them.
A
good introduction encourages the crew to take responsibility for
the debriefing session.
Introductions
have been shown to increase the amount and depth of crew participation.
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Important Points to Include in the Introduction
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Effective introductions should address all of the issues in the
following four categories. |
 Clarify
your role as instructor. |
The lnstructor's Role
Outline
the process for the debriefing and help establi sh an agenda.
Help
the crew identify topics and facilitate crew discussion as necessary.
Act
as a resource for CRM and technical issues.
Keep
discussion crew-centered rather than instructor-centered.
Ensure
that the training objectives are met.
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| Detail
your expectations for crew participation. |
The Crew's Responsibilities
Raise
issues and initiate discussion.
Discuss
issues directly with each other rather than only with the instructor.
Discuss
CRM techniques used during the LOS and other techniques which could
have been used profitably.
Critically
analyze the situations that were encountered and how they attempted
to manage those situations.
Evaluate
how things turned out and why.
Discuss
what, if anything, they would do differently in the future.
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| Provide
a persuasive rationale for the debriefing being crew-centered. |
The Rationale for Using Crew-Centered Debriefing
Crews
learn better through self-discovery and self-analysis than by lecture.
It
draws upon crews' professional expertise and motivation to perform
well.
It
helps the instructor understand the crew's performance.
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| Tell
the crew how long the session will last.
Explain
the format the debriefing will follow.
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The Expected Length and Format of the Debriefing
Tell
the crew how long the session will last (so they will not be motivated
to keep quiet in hopes of a short session). A thorough crew-centered
debriefing can usually be accomplished in an hour.
Tell
crews explicitly what format will be used for the debriefing (e.g.,
setting an agenda of topics to discuss, using videos to introduce
and supplement discussion, using the model presented in this manual
to keep focused on important topics).
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A Sample Introduction
"How much you learn from the LOS depends on discussing it afterwards:
Analyzing the situations that confronted you; analyzing what you did to
manage those situations, evaluating how well it worked out, and identifying
anything you might want to do differently. It is very important that you
make this analysis on your own. We all know how much more we learn when
we work something out ourselves than when we listen to a lecture about
it, especially if it concerns our own performance. So, if you are expecting
a lecture from me, forget it!
I realize that debriefing yourselves may be new to you so I will act
as a guide and help you get starter I encourage you however, to take the
initiative instead of waiting for me to raise issues. When you see the
video, please analyze what happened, what you did to manage the situation,
and why you did it that way. What was the most difficult aspect and why?
What CRM issues were involved and what CRM techniques did you use? We
are not looking for a scripted solution here, because every situation
on the line is a little different. The point of this exercise is for you
to develop the habit of g line situations and determining for yourselves
how to best use all of your resources to manage those situations.
I expect you to do most of the talking, raise questions about what
was going on, identify issues, and volunteer your perspectives. You can
use the agenda of topics we develop to structure your discussion. For
each topic you need to go beyond just describing what happened and what
you did. You need to dig deep, to analyze why it happened that way, what
management techniques seem to work best, and what you might have done
differently. This works best when you discuss the issues with each other
and reach your own conclusions about the factors that contribute to successful
operations.
This session will last about (x) minutes. I have marked several places
on the video that illustrate interesting aspects of the flight. But, before
we start looking at those video segments, what portions of the flight
do you feel are most important to discuss?"
Debriefing Format
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Developing an Agenda for the Discussion
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| Help
the crew develop an agenda and identify issues for discussion.
Ensure
that all critical issues are covered.
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A primary debriefing objective is for discussion to
be crew-centered. As the instructor, you play a critical role in helping
the crew develop a structure for their discussion and in ensuring
that all important issues that arose during the LOS are covered. It
is important to get the crewmembers to actively participate in developing
the agenda so they can develop the skill of identifying issues that
arise in line operations.
Ask the crew to identify any topics, situations. or performance
issues they would like to discuss. Remind them to include aspects
of their performance that worked well, not just aspects that might
be improved.
The issues you noted during the LOS are also an important part
of the debriefing agenda. As the instructor, you need to ensure
that all critical issues are covered. You can introduce issues not
identified by the crew at an appropriate point during the debriefing.
(A good way to improve the ability of crews to identify issues for
discussion is to suggest during the pre-LOS briefing that they make
note of issues they want to discuss in the debriefing.)
Typically, it is easiest to discuss phases of the flight in chronological
order so videotaped segments of the LOS performance can be incorporated
into the discussion without requiring extensive searching on the
VCR. However, this is largely a matter of personal preference and
some instructors prefer to start the discussion immediately when
crewmembers suggest a topic in order to reinforce the crew's initiative.
One advantage of showing video segments related to each topic is
that after viewing their performance objectively, crewmembers may
be better able to analyze and evaluate their performance in depth.
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Organizing the Discussion: The C-A-L
Model
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| Use
the C-A-L Model as a framework for discussion. |
The C-A-L Model incorporates three main concepts: CRM (C), Analysis
and evaluation of LOS performance (A), and application to Line operations
(L). This model provides a simple framework for crew discussion of
each LOS situation or topic. Posting a copy of the model (Appendix
A) on the wallboard will help remind the crew of each aspect of their
performance they should address. Part 4 of this manual addresses in
detail how to put this model to work. |
C-A-L Model for LOS Debriefings
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C
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CRM - Applying the company model
Use wallboards with list of CRM concepts.
Tie
CRM concepts and techniques to operational issues.
Put CRM into practice.
Crew
discussion of the LOS should be interactive.
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A
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Analysis and Evaluation of LOS performance
Explicitly evaluate performance during the LOS-
How
effective was management of the situation?
- What went well, and why?
- What could be improved, and how?
Interactively analyze the situation confronted.
What
happened?
How
was it managed (include CRM techniques utilized))?
Why
it was managed that way?
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L
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Line Operations - Applying lessons from LOS
Discuss how the LOS performance and associated CRM issues relate
to line operations.
Discuss
related line incidents that illustrate CRM issues.
Discuss
how to apply LOS success to line operations.
Discuss how things could have been done differently.
What
could have been done differently to improve the outcome in the LOS?
- What CRM techniques could have helped?
- How could you turn areas for improvement into strengths?
What
can be done to prevent or manage similar situations on the line?
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