The test was developed for the purpose, but in the Facilities section I found the following:
Facilities Participants were tested in three separate classrooms provided by the San Diego Naval Base, which hosted the assessment. Each classroom contained three IT systems—one physical system, with a full complement of servers and software (such as Microsoft Server, Windows XP, Microsoft Exchange, CISCO routers and switches, and the Navy’s COMPOSE overlay to Windows) and two identical virtual systems running on virtualized hardware with the same software. The systems were designed to mirror those typically found on Navy vessels and duty stations. The software was not simulated. Participants interacted directly with software used in the Fleet.
So they built actual IT systems in the classroom environment, and then they broke ’em on purpose. This is pretty common in both the IT and military fields as a training technique.
That being said, the environment of a ship is quite a bit more rigidly defined than a corporate one would be, which makes it more predictable along several dimensions. This may weigh slightly against the generalizability desiderata.
The test was developed for the purpose, but in the Facilities section I found the following:
So they built actual IT systems in the classroom environment, and then they broke ’em on purpose. This is pretty common in both the IT and military fields as a training technique.
That being said, the environment of a ship is quite a bit more rigidly defined than a corporate one would be, which makes it more predictable along several dimensions. This may weigh slightly against the generalizability desiderata.