Applied Decision Science
Applied Decision Science is a Cincinnati-based research and development firm applying Cognitive Task Analysis and Naturalistic Decision Making methods to design decision support tools, training programs, and human-machine teaming solutions for U.S. military, defense contractors, and healthcare organizations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersCincinnati, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Applied Decision Science does
Applied Decision Science (ADS) is a privately held research and development company founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a secondary office in Dayton, Ohio. The firm applies Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) and Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) methods to study human decision-making in environments characterized by high stakes, high time pressure, and high complexity. Its primary clients are U.S. military and defense agencies (including the U.S. Army, Air Force Research Laboratory, and NASA), healthcare systems (such as the Veterans Health Administration and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center), defense prime contractors (Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace), and academic institutions. ADS was founded by Laura Militello and Steve Wolf following their earlier work at Klein Associates alongside Gary Klein, the originator of the NDM movement.
The company's intellectual property centers on proprietary methodologies including the Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA) suite developed by Laura Militello and the Integrated Cognitive Analysis for Human-Machine Teaming (ICA-HMT) framework developed for the U.S. Army's Future Vertical Lift program. ADS has produced a portfolio of decision support and training deliverables, including the Chronic Pain Treatment Tracker prototype, the Tourniquet Troubleshooting Training App (tablet-based error recovery training for Emergency Medical Technicians), and the 2023 Handbook of Augmented Reality Training Design Principles published by Cambridge University Press. The firm also operates the Naturalistic Decision Making podcast and the Cognitive Task Analysis Institute as educational platforms for the CTA and NDM disciplines.
ADS operates a professional services business model, generating revenue through federal government research contracts (including SBIR/STTR programs and competitive bids), prime contracts (for example, with Ball Aerospace and Brookhaven National Laboratory), and consulting engagements with healthcare and academic institutions. Pricing is negotiated through government contracting vehicles and institutional agreements rather than standardized public pricing. The go-to-market approach relies on direct enterprise engagement with federal agencies, defense primes, and institutional clients, supplemented by thought-leadership content marketing through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and the NDM podcast. The firm maintains a related ecosystem of partner companies including Unveil, ShadowBox, and MacroCognition, alongside academic collaborators at Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University.
Applied Decision Science firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Applied Decision Science
- Legal name
- Applied Decision Science, LLC
- Website
- https://applieddecisionscience.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Applied Decision Science is a Cincinnati-based research and development firm applying Cognitive Task Analysis and Naturalistic Decision Making methods to design decision support tools, training programs, and human-machine teaming solutions for U.S. military, defense contractors, and healthcare organizations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Applied Decision Science industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Human Factors & Cognitive Engineering Consulting
- NAICS
- Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Advanced Analytics & Data Science Services (BPAEAHAE)
Keywords
Where Applied Decision Science is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cincinnati
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Applied Decision Science business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Government Research Contracts: Applied Decision Science generates revenue through federal government research contracts with agencies including the U.S. Army, Air Force, Department of Veterans Affairs, and other government entities. Projects are funded through grants and prime contracts, with the company serving as a subcontractor on larger efforts.
- Healthcare Research Services: The company provides cognitive engineering and human factors consulting services to healthcare organizations including hospitals, academic medical centers, and healthcare technology companies.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Applied Decision Science product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Applied Decision Science is a research and development company that conducts field research using Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) and Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) methods to study how experts make decisions in high-stakes, complex environments. The firm develops decision support tools, training applications, and analytical frameworks primarily for U.S. military agencies (Army, Air Force, VA) and healthcare organizations, and operates related businesses including Unveil, ShadowBox, and Macrocognition.
Product overview
Applied Decision Science is a research and development company that provides professional services rather than a single software product. The company offers a portfolio of specialized offerings including decision support tools (such as the Chronic Pain Treatment Tracker), training applications (Tourniquet Troubleshooting Training App), methodologies (ICA-HMT for human-machine teaming), and published knowledge products (Handbook of Augmented Reality Training Design). Their core services include Cognitive Task Analysis, Decision Making Research, Design of Decision Support Technologies, User Interface Design, Training Development, and Usability Analysis, primarily serving military and healthcare environments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Tourniquet Troubleshooting Training App
Quantifiable outcome
- EMT students exposed to the Tourniquet Troubleshooting Training app performed significantly better on knowledge tests, showed better transfer to novel settings, and demonstrated superior error recognition compared to peers receiving traditional training alone.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Applied Decision Science
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Applied Decision Science technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Applied Decision Science partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Emily Patterson, PhD (The Ohio State University)minorCollaboration to develop cognitive engineering and patient safety solutions for military and civilian healthcare fields.
- HF DesignworksminorPartnership to use cognitive task analysis to inform IMPRINT workload models for the U.S. Army's Future Vertical Lift program.
- MacroCognitionminorCollaboration applying Naturalistic Decision Making methods to study problems in domains such as aviation and multinational trust.
- Marimo ConsultingminorPartnership emphasizing ethnography and participatory design to generate insights and design opportunities for healthcare and military clients.
- Perigean TechnologiesminorPartnership to disseminate Naturalistic Decision Making research through the NDM podcast series and Cognitive Task Analysis Institute.
- Roth Cognitive EngineeringminorCooperation to integrate cognitive task and work analysis to inform Future Vertical Lift programs for the U.S. Army.
- ShadowboxminorPartnership using cognitive task analysis methods to create scenario-based training for expertise in domains such as child welfare and aviation.
- Shilo Anders, PhD (Vanderbilt University)minorTeaming focused on human factors and informatics solutions to support decision making in healthcare.
- UnveilminorJoint effort using the Recognition Primed Decision model to guide development of mixed-reality training for combat medics and medical students.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Applied Decision Science competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Klein Associates: Original NDM research firm where ADS founders trained under Gary Klein. Direct lineage peer in cognitive task analysis and naturalistic decision-making research for military and high-stakes environments.
- Aptima: Human-centered engineering and AI firm performing human factors, training, and decision support research for DoD and commercial clients. Directly comparable in cognitive task analysis and human-machine teaming offerings.
- Smart Information Flow Technologies (SIFT): R&D firm specializing in human factors, naturalistic decision making, and intelligent systems for defense and healthcare. Closely comparable methodology base and customer profile to ADS.
- Soar Technology: Defense-focused cognitive systems engineering firm building intelligent agents, training systems, and decision support for military customers. Comparable in DoD R&D contracting and cognitive engineering focus.
- SA Technologies: Human factors and systems engineering consultancy serving Army, Air Force, and intelligence agencies with training, human systems integration, and human-machine teaming work.
- MacroCognition: Sibling firm of ADS operated by the same co-founder circle, applying NDM methods to aviation and multinational trust. Operationally adjacent but distinct entity; useful as a true peer for capability benchmarking.
- ShadowBox: Related ADS-affiliated business using cognitive task analysis to build scenario-based training for domains including child welfare and aviation. Directly comparable training methodology and customer set.
- Unveil: Sister firm of ADS applying the Recognition Primed Decision model to mixed-reality training for combat medics and medical students. Strongly comparable in NDM-grounded training product development.
- Stottler Henke: AI and human factors consultancy partnering with ADS for UX/usability on AI products. Direct overlap in AI usability, training, and decision support for government and commercial clients.
Broad incumbents
- DCS Corp: Larger defense contractor with broad human factors, human systems integration, and training programs for Army aviation and rotorcraft. Comparable end-customer and methodology, much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Applied Decision Science social profiles
Digital presenceApplied Decision Science financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Applied Decision Science leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Applied Decision Science funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Applied Decision Science M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Applied Decision Science
What does Applied Decision Science do?
Applied Decision Science is a research and development company that conducts field research using Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) and Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) methods to study how experts make decisions in high-stakes, complex environments. The firm develops decision support tools, training applications, and analytical frameworks primarily for U.S. military agencies (Army, Air Force, VA) and healthcare organizations, and operates related businesses including Unveil, ShadowBox, and Macrocognition.
Is Applied Decision Science a public or private company?
Applied Decision Science is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Applied Decision Science founded?
Applied Decision Science was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Applied Decision Science based?
Applied Decision Science is headquartered in Cincinnati, United States, in the North America region.
How does Applied Decision Science make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Government Research Contracts are the primary driver. The others are healthcare Research Services.
Who are Applied Decision Science's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Klein Associates, Aptima, Smart Information Flow Technologies (SIFT), Soar Technology, SA Technologies, MacroCognition, ShadowBox, Unveil and Stottler Henke. DCS Corp is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Applied Decision Science have an API?
No public API is recorded for Applied Decision Science.
What industry is Applied Decision Science in?
Applied Decision Science's product category is Human Factors & Cognitive Engineering Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAM, Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAEAHAE, Advanced Analytics & Data Science Services. Its NAICS code is 54169 and its SIC code is 8711.