Automated Repair Service Bureau: Human Performance Design Techniques

In this issue, individuals from the disciplines of software, hardware, and systems engineering relate the design and development of A R S B systems from their perspectives. In this article, we discuss one of the functions that psychologists perform in the design and development of A R S B systems. This particular function is labeled personnel subsystem development (PSD), which means the integrated design of those factors that affect human behavior in the system, including the design of manual procedures, human-machine interfaces, training, performance aids, and documentation as part of the total system.1 The PSD process also includes the systematic testing of the personnel subsystem prior to the initial field installation. As an illustration of PSD, we will first give a synopsis of the process and then relate the process as it was applied to the Mechanized Loop Testing System (MLT).2 Our intentions are not to relate a "how-to-do-it" guide but to illustrate the approach and emphasize that system development is not just software development but the integrated design of hardware, software, and human information processing components. 1293