Risk Management - Taxonomies/Risk Areas: Human Factors

To ensure operational effectiveness, has a comprehensive technical effort been made to integrate human factors qualitative and quantitative information into system design, testing, and acquisition? Such information includes:
- human characteristics
- operator/maintainer capability requirements
- soldier performance data
- system interface requirements
- biomedical factors
- safety factors
- training factors
- manning implications
Are human factors engineering topics addressed in the:
- Mission Needs Statement
- Operational Requirements Document
- Contract Statement of Work
- Testing and Evaluation plans
Has a user or user's representative been an active participant in concept development, system design, and test planning?
Have equipment performance requirements been considered with human performance requirements and capabilities?
Task performance data
- Obtain data from:
  - Checklists
  - Interviews
  - Questionnaires
  - SME observations and ratings
  - Direct performance measures
  - Video (time & motion studies)
- Number of tasks attempted and completed
- Time to perform
- Accuracy
  - Number or proportion of successfully completed tasks
  - Human reliability: Consider sources of human error:
    - Inadequate aptitude: too difficult for selected personnel (e.g., too many steps)
    - Inadequate training
    - Equipment configuration induces error
    - Environmental conditions induce human error
    - Eliminate through design typical sources of human error
- Reasons tasks were not completed
  - Insufficient manpower
  - Inadequate aptitudes
  - Poor training
  - Poor human factors design
  - Lack of, or poor job performance aids
  - Lack of feedback devices
Task description & analysis
Task criticality, frequency of task, learning difficulty, decay rate
"High driver" tasks
Information flow analysis
Task allocation analysis
- Soldier
- Soldier and machine
- Machine
- Manual override of specific functions considered?
- Sequence of operational instructions
- Task-interdependence of crew members
Workload analysis
- Mental workload:
  - Information processing demands
  - Memory requirements
  - Learning and retention requirements
  - Sensory discrimination requirements
- Physical workload demands:
  - Task overload
  - Biomedical considerations
  - Strength and endurance considerations
- How will degraded manning affect performance?
- Is the number of soldiers planned to perform various critical tasks required by the system sufficient to meet the system performance requirements?
Psychomotor requirements
Task environment
Maintenance, ease of: does system require major dismantling for access to frequently replaced components? Are built-in self-diagnostics feasible?
Equipment and Workspace Design
- Crew interfaces
- Human-computer interface
- Interface compatibility with the capabilities/characteristics of the target audience
- Usability (as judged by the test players via questionnaires, or exhibited in behaviors). Poor interface design or poor training could be reflected by:
  - Repetition of task steps
  - Increase in error rates
  - Excessive use of on-line help or system documentation
  - Requests for assistance
  - Verbal/non-verbal complaints
- Ergonomic considerations
- Anthropometric data
Stress
- Heat stress
- Psychological stress
- Continuous operations
- Fatigue
- Isolation
- Crowding
- Will battle stress degrade performance?
Can the operator perform all required tasks in the prescribed manner while wearing MOPP or other special equipment?

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Last modified: Wednesday, April 2, 2003