Applications of Human Performance Models to System Design

The human factors profession is currently attempting to take a more proactive role in the design of man-machine systems than has been character- istic of its past. Realizing that human engineering contributions are needed well before the experimental evaluation of prototypes or operational systems, there is a concerted effort to develop tools that predict how humans will interact with proposed designs. This volume provides an over- view of one category of such tools: mathematical models of human performance. It represents a collection of invited papers from a 1988 NATO Workshop. The Workshop was conceived and organized by NATO Research Study Group 9 (RSG.9) on &quote;Modelling of Human Operator Behaviour in Weapon Systems&quote;. It represented the culmination of over five years of effort, and was attended by 139 persons from Europe, Canada, and the United States. RSG.9 was established in 1982 by Panel 8 of the Defence Research Group to accomplish the following objectives: * Determine the utility and state of the art of human performance modelling. * Encourage international research and the exchange of ideas. * Foster the practical application of modelling research. * Provide a bridge between the models and approaches adopted by engineers and behavioral scientists. * Present the findings in an international symposium.