Conceptual Foundations of Human Factors Measurement

257 Pages·2003·1.442 MB·\257

by  David Meister (Author)

Conceptual Foundations
of Human Factors Measurement
HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS
Gavriel Salvendy, Series Editor
Hendrick, H., and Kleiner, B. (Eds.): Macroergonomics: Theory, Methods and
Applications.
Hollnagael, E. (Ed.): Handbook of Cognitive Task Design.
Jacko, J. A., and Sears, A. (Eds.): The Human–Computer Interaction Handbook:
Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies and Emerging Applications.
Meister, D. (Au.): Conceptual Foundations of Human Factors Measurement.
Meister, D., and Enderwick, T. (Eds.): Human Factors in System Design,
Development, and Testing.
Stanney, Kay M. (Ed.): Handbook of Virtual Environments: Design,
Implementation, and Applications.
Stephanidis, C. (Ed.): User Interfaces for All: Concepts, Methods, and Tools.
Ye, Nong (Ed.): The Handbook of Data Mining.
Also in this Series
HCI 1999 Proceedings 2 Volume Set
• Bullinger, H. –J., and Ziegler, J. (Eds.): Human–Computer Interaction:
Ergonomics and User Interfaces.
• Bullinger, H. –J., and Ziegler, J. (Eds.):Human–Computer Interaction:
Communication, Cooperation, and Application Design.
HCI 2001 Proceedings 3 Volume Set
• Smith, M. J., Salvendy, G., Harris, D., and Koubek, R. J. (Eds.):
Usability Evaluation and Interface Design: Cognitive Engineering,
Intelligent Agents andVirtual Reality.
• Smith, M. J., and Salvendy, G. (Eds.): Systems, Social and
Internationalization Design Aspects of Human–Computer Interaction.
• Stephanidis, C.(Ed.): Universal Access in HCI: Towards an Information
Society for All.
HCI 2003 Proceedings 4 Volume Set
• Jacko, J. A., and Stephanidis, C. (Eds.): Human–Computer Interaction:
Theory and Practice (Part I).
• Stephanidis, C., and Jacko, J. A. (Eds.): Human–Computer Interaction:
Theory and Practice (Part II).
• Harris, D., Duffy, V., Smith, M., and Stephanidis, C. (Eds.):
Human–Centered Computing: Cognitive, Social and Ergonomic Aspects.
• Stephanidis, C. (Ed.): Universal Access in HCI: Inclusive Design in the
Information Society.
Conceptual Foundations
of Human Factors Measurement
David Meister
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS
2004 Mahwah, New Jersey London
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
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Copyright © 2004 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced in
Any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other
means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers
10 Industrial Avenue
Mahwah, New Jersey 07430
Cover design by Sean Trane Sciarrone
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Meister, David.
Conceptual Foundations of Human Factors Measurement / David Meister.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8058-4135-0 (alk. paper)
1. Human engineering. I. Title.
TA166.M395 2003
620.8’2—dc21
2003052863
ISBN 1-4106-0941-3 Master e-book ISBN
Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper,
and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability.
This book is dedicated to those HF professionals who
believe in the continuing development of their discipline.

Contents
Preface ix
1. BASIC PREMISES AND PRINCIPLES 1
What Is Special About HF Measurement? 2
Why Is Measurement Important? 4
Elements of the Measurement System 4
The Conceptual Foundations of HF Measurement 14
2. MEASUREMENT PROBLEMS 26
Measurement Phases and Functions 26
HF Goals and the Selection of Research Themes 41
The Role of Validation in Measurement 43
The Relation Between Objective and Subjective
Measurement 46
Application and Utility in Research 48
The Role of the Operational Environment in
Measurement 51
3. THE CONCEPTUAL STRUCTURE OF THE HF 53
PROFESSIONAL
Characteristics of the Conceptual Structure 53
The Survey 57
Conclusions 76
4. UNMANAGED PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 80
Measurement Parameters 80
Unmanaged Performance Measurement 87
Conclusions 96
vii
viii CONTENTS
5. THE EXPERIMENT AND OTHER OBJECTIVE METHODS 97
The Experiment 97
Other Objective Methods 118
6. SUBJECTIVE AND RELATED METHODS 126
The Definition of Subjective Measurement 127
The Singularity of Subjectivism 129
What Are the Subjective Methods? 130
Observation 131
Inspection 137
The Interview/Questionnaire 142
Judgmental Methods 150
Human Performance System Models 155
Forensic Investigation 163
Critical Incident Technique 166
7. MEASURES 169
The Definition of a Measure 174
Measure Characteristics 177
Criteria 183
Assumptions Underlying Measures 185
Questions Asked in Measure Selection 190
Measures at Varying System Levels 191
8. RESEARCH USERS 197
Research Utility 197
The User Survey 206
Conclusions 213
9. FINAL THOUGHTS 216
A Little History 216
Human Factors Tensions 218
A Theory of Human–System Functioning 223
Recommendations 228
Conclusions 231
REFERENCES 232
AUTHOR INDEX 237
SUBJECT INDEX 239
Preface
A preface serves as a means of justifying an author’s writing of a book. It
may also provide clues to the reader about what the author had in mind
in writing the book.
This author admits to a feeling of dissatisfaction with the current status
of Human Factors (HF) and its measurement processes. Like most people,
HF professionals want simple answers to complex problems. They forget
that there may be unexplored depths underlying the most common
practices they perform.
Why explore these depths if everyone is happy with the status quo? A
basic principle is involved: Unless the status quo is disturbed, there can
be no progress in a discipline. Disciplines do progress and improve their
effectiveness (however effectiveness is defined), but this does not occur
automatically; there is no “invisible hand” guiding a discipline. Change
must be orchestrated by those willing to question the status quo.
Measurement can be performed at two levels: (a) The most common
is that of human or individual/team performance and (b) the least common
is measurement of the performance of the discipline as a whole. Most of
the following text discusses the first topic, but a few words need be said
about the second.
If readers ask, as they should, why the effectiveness of a discipline
should be measured, it is because (a) measurement to a large extent defines
a discipline, and so measurement at the human level is inevitably tied in
with measurement at the disciplinary level, and (b) measurement results
may reveal ways in which the effectiveness of the discipline can be
modified and its direction changed to make it more effective. In performing
such an evaluation of HF, the following questions and parameters should
be considered:
1. What significant changes have occurred in the discipline over time?
In a scientific discipline like HF these changes are most often reflected in
its measurement practices—the characteristics of its research. A
comparative study was performed of the work published in the 1999
and 1974 Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
(HFES) (Newsletter, 2002a). The results suggest that not much has
changed in HF research over the past 25 years.
ix