nontechnical skills taxonomy for officers of the deck

Nontechnical skills taxonomy for Officers of the Deck

Life & Health

Background:

The Officer of the Deck (OOD) of a U.S. Navy ship is in charge of the safe and proper operation of the ship, and accountable to the Commanding Officer for every event that occurs during his or her OOD watch. An initial set of 17 categories of nontechnical skills were identified from a literature review. A focus group with four qualified OODs used the skills identified from the literature review to develop an initial taxonomy of five categories, each with two or three corresponding behavioral elements. This taxonomy was then used to classify 149 statements concerned with the nontechnical skills of OODs collected from 16 critical incident interviews. After three iterations of adaptations to the taxonomy, two independent raters were able to reach acceptable levels of reliability in using the taxonomy to classify the statements. Although further development work is required, it is suggested that the prototype behavioral marker system has implications for improving safety and performance on military and civilian ships.

Psychometrics:

Acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability were obtained

Author of Tool:

Long, O’Connor

Key references:

Long., W.M., O’Connor, P., & McCauley M. (2010). Nontechnical skills for Officers of the Deck (NTSOD) rating form: A user’s guide. Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School.

http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/TR/2010/NPS-OR-10-009.pdf

O’Connor, P. & Long, W.M. (2011). The development of a prototype behavioural marker system for U.S. Navy Officers of the Deck. Safety Science,49, 1381-1387.

Primary use / Purpose:

A behavioural marker system for evaluating the nontechnical skills of Officers of the Deck.

NON-TECHNICAL SKILLS FOR OFFICERS OF THE DECK (NTSOD) RAT

 

Ship                                               

Trainee                                            

Watch           

Date                                               

Trainer                                             

Evolution      

CategoryCategory Rating*ElementElement Rating*Notes
Leadership Managing Watch Team  
Coping with Stress  
Communications Providing Information  
Issuing Orders  
 

Situational Awareness

 Gathering Awareness  
Understanding Awareness  
Anticipating Future Events  
 

Decision Making

 Analytical Decision Making  
Following Orders & Procedures  
Intuitive Decision Making  

 

* 1 – Unsatisfactory; 2 – Marginal; 3 – Satisfactory; 4 – Outstanding; N/O – Not Observed

1 – Unsatisfactory: Watchstander could endanger ship and crew without considerable improvement. 2 – Marginal: Watchstander requires improvement.

3 – Satisfactory: Watchstander performed at an acceptable level, but room for improvement exists. 4 – Outstanding: Watchstander performed at a consistently high level.

Cite this article

Mohammed looti (2026). Nontechnical skills taxonomy for Officers of the Deck. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/nontechnical-skills-taxonomy-for-officers-of-the-deck-2/

Mohammed looti. "Nontechnical skills taxonomy for Officers of the Deck." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2 Apr. 2026, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/nontechnical-skills-taxonomy-for-officers-of-the-deck-2/.

Mohammed looti. "Nontechnical skills taxonomy for Officers of the Deck." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2026. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/nontechnical-skills-taxonomy-for-officers-of-the-deck-2/.

Mohammed looti (2026) 'Nontechnical skills taxonomy for Officers of the Deck', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/nontechnical-skills-taxonomy-for-officers-of-the-deck-2/.

[1] Mohammed looti, "Nontechnical skills taxonomy for Officers of the Deck," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, April, 2026.

Mohammed looti. Nontechnical skills taxonomy for Officers of the Deck. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2026;vol(issue):pages.

Related terms:

  1. Nuclear Team skills Taxonomy
  2. Stress Management Skills Scale
  3. Emotion-Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ERSQ)
  4. Stress Management Skills Scale
  5. Social skills rating system (SSRS) – Children‚ Teacher and Parent version
  6. Botvin Life Skills Training Evaluation/Assertiveness
  7. Life Skills Profile (LSP)
  8. Interpersonal Communication Skills Inventory
  9. Assistance Skills
  10. Dialogue Skills Assessment Scale
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