However, most educational programs that teach functional area topics focus mainly on the technical knowledge
for the particular function, not on cross-domain knowledge or on the knowledge needed to use multidisciplinary
methods for knowledge elicitation and influence. This latter type of knowledge typically is gained by on-the-job
experience and can take many years. In today’s environment, there is a critical need to improve acquisition program
workforce training to reduce persistent problems in program outcomes related to technical performance, schedule
and cost [2]. One avenue to improve training involves use of educational technology, in particular role-based
experiential learning. This paper explores the creation ofsuch a learning environment in which a learner assumes
the role of a logistician who must not only understand issues in his or her functional area, but also must interact with
systems engineers to understand the implications of decisions in that functional area on logistics. This environment
is based on the Experience Accelerator, an existing prototype learning environment used for systems engineering
workforce development [3, 4].