Human error is a significant contributor to product failure. However, it is uncommon for designer... more Human error is a significant contributor to product failure. However, it is uncommon for designers to explicitly consider the potential for human error in the design of products. In this chapter, it is proposed that 'human error' arises as a consequence of the interaction between user and product, and that modeling this interaction can allow insight into possible error paths. Using a simple representation of product functioning, based on state-space diagrams, Task Analysis for Error Identification indicates paths between states that are open to the user but which do not support the achievement of the user's goal; such paths are considered to be erroneous. From this perspective, one of the aims of product design is to minimize paths to error.
The consistency and repeatability of movement patterns has been of long-standing interest in loco... more The consistency and repeatability of movement patterns has been of long-standing interest in locomotor biomechanics, but less well explored in other domains. Tool use is one of such a domain; while the complex dynamics of the human-tool-environment system have been approached from various angles, to date it remains unknown how the rhythmicity of repetitive tool-using action emerges. To examine whether the spontaneously adopted movement frequency is a variable susceptible to individual execution approaches or emerges as constant behaviour, we recorded sawing motion across a range of 14 experimental conditions using various manipulations. This was compared to free and pantomimed arm movements. We found that a mean (SD) sawing frequency of 2.0 (0.4) Hz was employed across experimental conditions. Most experimental conditions did not significantly affect the sawing frequency, signifying the robustness of this spontaneously emerging movement. Free horizontal arm translation and miming of...
Sense-making plays an important role in Intelligence Analysis, but can be difficult to study in s... more Sense-making plays an important role in Intelligence Analysis, but can be difficult to study in situ. Thus, it is common to use training exercises to study this phenomenon. In this paper, an exercise was undertaken by Military Intelligence personnel. The behaviour of groups of analysts is considered in terms the Data / Frame Model of Sense-making. The paper illustrates how Intelligence Analysis need not follow a linear process but often involves parallel and overlapping explorations of data, with multiple frames that might be minimal and sketchy. The use of representations, such as link diagrams, provides a means of externalizing frames and it is suggested that this shifts reasoning from deductive reasoning to abductive reasoning as the exercise progresses.
Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, 2021
Broadband sonar analysis is used to identify contacts of interest and develop a tactical picture ... more Broadband sonar analysis is used to identify contacts of interest and develop a tactical picture when operating underwater. Sonar analysts must identify significant features from hydrophone recordings and use these to determine the type of contact presented and in which direction it is moving. This is performed with no external views available, leading to dynamic levels of information uncertainty. This work explores how sonar analysts process sonar data and how this differs from the analysis performed by experienced sound engineers. Subject Matter Experts described aural and visual features from hydrophone recordings using a repertory grid method. This was used to gain access to the 'frames' that the different experts were using, described in terms of constructs and concepts. The concepts are used to design a novel visual display, Visual Intelligent Narrative for Autonomous Systems (VINAS), which is designed to aid contact classification.
Tool use can be considered in terms of purposeful behaviour. This emphasis on ‘purpose’ hides a h... more Tool use can be considered in terms of purposeful behaviour. This emphasis on ‘purpose’ hides a host of assumptions about the nature of cognition and its relationship with physical activity. In particular, a notion of ‘purpose’ might assume that this is teleological which, in turn, requires a model of a desired end state of an action that can be projected onto the environment. Such a model is fundamental to traditional descriptions of cognition and a version of this can be found in the ‘template’ theory of stone-tool production (i.e. where the maker of the tool has a model in mind and attempts to reproduce this model in stone). Against this cognitive perspective, a number of approaches have been proposed that share their roots in the work of Gibson (i.e. ecological psychology) or Bernstein (i.e. dynamic systems). From these perspectives, ‘purpose’ is not a matter of a projection but opportunity; put simply, an action is performed until it need not be performed further. Trivial thoug...
The notion that human activity can be characterised in terms of dynamic systems is a well-establi... more The notion that human activity can be characterised in terms of dynamic systems is a well-established alternative to motor schema approaches. Key to a dynamic systems approach is the idea that a system seeks to achieve stable states in the face of perturbation. While such an approach can apply to physical activity, it can be challenging to accept that dynamic systems also describe cognitive activity. In this paper, we argue that creativity, which could be construed as a 'cognitive' activity par excellence, arises from the dynamic systems involved in jewellery making. Knowing whether an action has been completed to a 'good' standard is a significant issue in considering acts in creative disciplines. When making a piece of jewellery, there a several criteria which can define 'good'. These are not only the aesthetics of the finished piece but also the impact of earlier actions on subsequent ones. This suggests that the manner in which an action is coordinated is influenced by the criteria by which the product is judged. We see these criteria as indicating states for the system, e.g. in terms of a space of 'good' outcomes and a complementary space of 'bad' outcomes. The skill of the craftworker is to navigate this space of available states in such a way as to minimise risk, effort and other costs and maximise benefit and quality of the outcome. In terms of postphenomonology, this paper explores Ihde's humantechnology relations and relates these to the concepts developed here.
We explore the ways in which animate objects can be used to cue actions as part of coaching in Ac... more We explore the ways in which animate objects can be used to cue actions as part of coaching in Activities of Daily Living (ADL). In this case, changing the appearance or behavior of a physical object is intended to cue actions which are appropriate for a given context. The context is defined by the intention of the users, the state of the objects and the tasks for which these objects can be used. We present initial design prototypes and simple user trials which explore the impact of different cues on activity. It is shown that raising the handle of a jug, for example, not only cues the act of picking up the jug but also encourages use of the hand adjacent to the handle; that combinations of lights (on the objects) and auditory cues influence activity through reducing uncertainty; and that cueing can challenge pre-learned action sequences. We interpret these results in terms of the idea that the animate objects can be used to create affording situations, and discuss implications of t...
The performance of complex polyrhythms-rhythms where the left and right hand move at different ra... more The performance of complex polyrhythms-rhythms where the left and right hand move at different rates-is usually the province of highly trained individuals. However, studies in which hand movement is guided haptically show that even novices can perform polyrhythms with no or only brief training. In this study, we investigated whether novices are able to tap with one hand by matching different rates of a metronome while sawing with the other hand. This experiment was based on the assumption that saw movement is controlled consistently at a predictable rate without the need for paying primary attention to it. It would follow that consciously matching different stipulated metronome rates with the other hand would result in the spontaneous performance of polyrhythms. Six experimental conditions were randomised: single handed tapping and sawing as well as four bimanual conditions with expected ratios of 1:1 (performed with and without matching a metronome) as well as 3:4 and 4:3 (performed matching a metronome). Results showed that participants executed the saw movement at a consistent cycle duration of 0.44 [0.20] s to 0.51 [0.19] s across single and bimanual conditions, with no significant effect of the condition on the cycle duration (p = 0.315). Similarly, free tapping was executed at a cycle duration of 0.48 [0.22] s. In the bimanual conditions, we found that for a ratio of 4:3 (4 taps against 3 sawing cycles per measure), the observed and predicted ratio of 0.75 were not significantly different (p = 0.369), supporting our hypothesis of the spontaneous adoption of polyrhythms. However, for a ratio of 3:4 (3 taps against 4 sawing cycles per measure), the observed and predicted ratio differed (p = 0.016), with a trend towards synchronisation. Our findings show that bimanual independence when performing complex polyrhythms can in principle be achieved if the movement of one hand can be performed without paying much-if any-attention to it. In this paradigm, small rhythmic arm movements are possibly driven by an intrinsic timing which leads to spontaneous convergence on a cycle duration of around 0.5 s, while the movement of the other hand can be controlled consciously to occur at desired rates.
Road traffic control rooms rely on human operators to monitor and interact with information prese... more Road traffic control rooms rely on human operators to monitor and interact with information presented on multiple displays. Past studies have found inconsistent use of available visual information sources in such settings across different domains. In this study, we aimed to broaden the understanding of observer behaviour in control rooms by analysing a case study in road traffic control. We conducted a field study in a live road traffic control room where five operators responded to incidents while wearing a mobile eye tracker. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, we investigated the operators' workflow using ergonomics methods and quantified visual information sampling. We found that individuals showed differing preferences for viewing modalities and weighting of task components, with a strong coupling between eye and head movement. For the quantitative analysis of the eye tracking data, we propose a number of metrics which may prove useful to compare visual sampling ...
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 2016
Sense-making plays an important role in Intelligence Analysis, but can be difficult to study in s... more Sense-making plays an important role in Intelligence Analysis, but can be difficult to study in situ. Thus, it is useful to exploit training exercises to study this phenomenon. In this paper two versions of the same exercise are reported: one undertaken by participants at a conference and one undertaken by Military Intelligence personnel. The behaviour of groups of analysts (experienced versus inexperienced) is considered in terms the Data / Frame model of Sense-making. The paper illustrates how Intelligence Analysis often involves parallel and overlapping explorations of data, with multiple frames that might be minimal and sketchy. The use of representations, such as link diagrams, provides a means of externalizing frames and it is suggested that these can shift the style of reasoning exhibited by the teams as the exercise progresses. Such a shift was seen more clearly in the behaviour of the Military Intelligence Officers who also spent more time developing and refining the diagrams to support the presentation of their findings.
In order to develop effective virtual reality training systems for surgery there is a need to pro... more In order to develop effective virtual reality training systems for surgery there is a need to provide appropriate sensory and performance feedback to the user. This paper aims to demonstrate a method by which performance data can be collected. This is used to investigate the effect of haptic feedback on performance. A PHANTOM desktop device was used in conjunction with a suturing simulation A pair of needle-holders was instrumented with strain gauges and attached to the stylus of the PHANTOM allowing the measurement of force application and time. Suturing performance was evaluated in terms of stitch completion time, peak force application, and the length and straightness of the stitch. The effect of the level of force feedback provided by the simulation and performance over time was considered. The results indicate that the presence of force feedback affected task completion time, peak force application and the straightness of the stitch. Task completion time was shown to increase with the level of force feedback provided. Performance was seen to improve over time in terms of task completion time and the accuracy ofthe stitch. The work has examined how the presence and level of force feedback affects performance of a simple task. The accuracy of haptic feedback is important in the design of surgical simulation systems to ensure effective training transfer. A data collection method by which objective performance evaluation can be made is demonstrated. The method can be applied to training using bench models, simulations and potentially in the operating theatre.
In this paper, the underlying theory of Task Analysis for Error Identification is presented. The ... more In this paper, the underlying theory of Task Analysis for Error Identification is presented. The aim is to illustrate the development of a method that has been proposed for the evaluation of prototypical designs from the perspective of predicting human error. The paper presents the method applied to representative examples. The methodology is considered in terms of the various validation studies that we have conducted, and is discussed in the light of a specific case study.
Crime scene investigation is a form of Distributed Cognition. The principal concept we explore in... more Crime scene investigation is a form of Distributed Cognition. The principal concept we explore in this paper is that of ‘resource for action’. It is proposed that crime scene investigation employs four primary resources-for-action: (a.) the environment, or scene itself, which affords particular forms of search and object retrieval; (b.) the retrieved objects, which afford translation into evidence; (c.) the procedures that guide investigation, which both constrain the search activity and also provide opportunity for additional activity; (d.) the narratives that different agents within the system produce to develop explanatory models and formal accounts of the crime. For each aspect of distributed cognition, we consider developments in technology that could support activity.
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 2001
Habitability refers to the match between the language people employ when using a computer system ... more Habitability refers to the match between the language people employ when using a computer system and the language that the system can accept. In this paper, the concept of &&habitability'' is explored in relation to the design of dialogues for speechbased systems. Two studies investigating the role of habitability in speech systems for banking applications are reported. The "rst study employed a speech-driven automated teller machine (ATM), using a visual display to indicate available vocabulary. Users made several distinct types of error with this system, indicating that habitability in speech systems cannot be achieved simply by displaying the input language. The second study employed a speech input/speech output home banking application, in which system constraints were indicated by either a spoken menu of words or a &&query-style'' prompt (e.g. &&what service do you require?''). Between-subjects comparisons of these two conditions con"rmed that the &&menu-style'' dialogue was rated as more habitable than the &&query-style''. It also led to fewer errors, and was rated as easier to use, suggesting that habitability is a key issue in speech system usability. Comparison with the results of the "rst study suggests that for speech input, spoken menu prompts may be more habitable than similar menus shown on a visual display. The implications of these results to system design are discussed, and some initial dialogue design recommendations are presented.
Human error is a significant contributor to product failure. However, it is uncommon for designer... more Human error is a significant contributor to product failure. However, it is uncommon for designers to explicitly consider the potential for human error in the design of products. In this chapter, it is proposed that 'human error' arises as a consequence of the interaction between user and product, and that modeling this interaction can allow insight into possible error paths. Using a simple representation of product functioning, based on state-space diagrams, Task Analysis for Error Identification indicates paths between states that are open to the user but which do not support the achievement of the user's goal; such paths are considered to be erroneous. From this perspective, one of the aims of product design is to minimize paths to error.
The consistency and repeatability of movement patterns has been of long-standing interest in loco... more The consistency and repeatability of movement patterns has been of long-standing interest in locomotor biomechanics, but less well explored in other domains. Tool use is one of such a domain; while the complex dynamics of the human-tool-environment system have been approached from various angles, to date it remains unknown how the rhythmicity of repetitive tool-using action emerges. To examine whether the spontaneously adopted movement frequency is a variable susceptible to individual execution approaches or emerges as constant behaviour, we recorded sawing motion across a range of 14 experimental conditions using various manipulations. This was compared to free and pantomimed arm movements. We found that a mean (SD) sawing frequency of 2.0 (0.4) Hz was employed across experimental conditions. Most experimental conditions did not significantly affect the sawing frequency, signifying the robustness of this spontaneously emerging movement. Free horizontal arm translation and miming of...
Sense-making plays an important role in Intelligence Analysis, but can be difficult to study in s... more Sense-making plays an important role in Intelligence Analysis, but can be difficult to study in situ. Thus, it is common to use training exercises to study this phenomenon. In this paper, an exercise was undertaken by Military Intelligence personnel. The behaviour of groups of analysts is considered in terms the Data / Frame Model of Sense-making. The paper illustrates how Intelligence Analysis need not follow a linear process but often involves parallel and overlapping explorations of data, with multiple frames that might be minimal and sketchy. The use of representations, such as link diagrams, provides a means of externalizing frames and it is suggested that this shifts reasoning from deductive reasoning to abductive reasoning as the exercise progresses.
Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Multimodal Interaction, 2021
Broadband sonar analysis is used to identify contacts of interest and develop a tactical picture ... more Broadband sonar analysis is used to identify contacts of interest and develop a tactical picture when operating underwater. Sonar analysts must identify significant features from hydrophone recordings and use these to determine the type of contact presented and in which direction it is moving. This is performed with no external views available, leading to dynamic levels of information uncertainty. This work explores how sonar analysts process sonar data and how this differs from the analysis performed by experienced sound engineers. Subject Matter Experts described aural and visual features from hydrophone recordings using a repertory grid method. This was used to gain access to the 'frames' that the different experts were using, described in terms of constructs and concepts. The concepts are used to design a novel visual display, Visual Intelligent Narrative for Autonomous Systems (VINAS), which is designed to aid contact classification.
Tool use can be considered in terms of purposeful behaviour. This emphasis on ‘purpose’ hides a h... more Tool use can be considered in terms of purposeful behaviour. This emphasis on ‘purpose’ hides a host of assumptions about the nature of cognition and its relationship with physical activity. In particular, a notion of ‘purpose’ might assume that this is teleological which, in turn, requires a model of a desired end state of an action that can be projected onto the environment. Such a model is fundamental to traditional descriptions of cognition and a version of this can be found in the ‘template’ theory of stone-tool production (i.e. where the maker of the tool has a model in mind and attempts to reproduce this model in stone). Against this cognitive perspective, a number of approaches have been proposed that share their roots in the work of Gibson (i.e. ecological psychology) or Bernstein (i.e. dynamic systems). From these perspectives, ‘purpose’ is not a matter of a projection but opportunity; put simply, an action is performed until it need not be performed further. Trivial thoug...
The notion that human activity can be characterised in terms of dynamic systems is a well-establi... more The notion that human activity can be characterised in terms of dynamic systems is a well-established alternative to motor schema approaches. Key to a dynamic systems approach is the idea that a system seeks to achieve stable states in the face of perturbation. While such an approach can apply to physical activity, it can be challenging to accept that dynamic systems also describe cognitive activity. In this paper, we argue that creativity, which could be construed as a 'cognitive' activity par excellence, arises from the dynamic systems involved in jewellery making. Knowing whether an action has been completed to a 'good' standard is a significant issue in considering acts in creative disciplines. When making a piece of jewellery, there a several criteria which can define 'good'. These are not only the aesthetics of the finished piece but also the impact of earlier actions on subsequent ones. This suggests that the manner in which an action is coordinated is influenced by the criteria by which the product is judged. We see these criteria as indicating states for the system, e.g. in terms of a space of 'good' outcomes and a complementary space of 'bad' outcomes. The skill of the craftworker is to navigate this space of available states in such a way as to minimise risk, effort and other costs and maximise benefit and quality of the outcome. In terms of postphenomonology, this paper explores Ihde's humantechnology relations and relates these to the concepts developed here.
We explore the ways in which animate objects can be used to cue actions as part of coaching in Ac... more We explore the ways in which animate objects can be used to cue actions as part of coaching in Activities of Daily Living (ADL). In this case, changing the appearance or behavior of a physical object is intended to cue actions which are appropriate for a given context. The context is defined by the intention of the users, the state of the objects and the tasks for which these objects can be used. We present initial design prototypes and simple user trials which explore the impact of different cues on activity. It is shown that raising the handle of a jug, for example, not only cues the act of picking up the jug but also encourages use of the hand adjacent to the handle; that combinations of lights (on the objects) and auditory cues influence activity through reducing uncertainty; and that cueing can challenge pre-learned action sequences. We interpret these results in terms of the idea that the animate objects can be used to create affording situations, and discuss implications of t...
The performance of complex polyrhythms-rhythms where the left and right hand move at different ra... more The performance of complex polyrhythms-rhythms where the left and right hand move at different rates-is usually the province of highly trained individuals. However, studies in which hand movement is guided haptically show that even novices can perform polyrhythms with no or only brief training. In this study, we investigated whether novices are able to tap with one hand by matching different rates of a metronome while sawing with the other hand. This experiment was based on the assumption that saw movement is controlled consistently at a predictable rate without the need for paying primary attention to it. It would follow that consciously matching different stipulated metronome rates with the other hand would result in the spontaneous performance of polyrhythms. Six experimental conditions were randomised: single handed tapping and sawing as well as four bimanual conditions with expected ratios of 1:1 (performed with and without matching a metronome) as well as 3:4 and 4:3 (performed matching a metronome). Results showed that participants executed the saw movement at a consistent cycle duration of 0.44 [0.20] s to 0.51 [0.19] s across single and bimanual conditions, with no significant effect of the condition on the cycle duration (p = 0.315). Similarly, free tapping was executed at a cycle duration of 0.48 [0.22] s. In the bimanual conditions, we found that for a ratio of 4:3 (4 taps against 3 sawing cycles per measure), the observed and predicted ratio of 0.75 were not significantly different (p = 0.369), supporting our hypothesis of the spontaneous adoption of polyrhythms. However, for a ratio of 3:4 (3 taps against 4 sawing cycles per measure), the observed and predicted ratio differed (p = 0.016), with a trend towards synchronisation. Our findings show that bimanual independence when performing complex polyrhythms can in principle be achieved if the movement of one hand can be performed without paying much-if any-attention to it. In this paradigm, small rhythmic arm movements are possibly driven by an intrinsic timing which leads to spontaneous convergence on a cycle duration of around 0.5 s, while the movement of the other hand can be controlled consciously to occur at desired rates.
Road traffic control rooms rely on human operators to monitor and interact with information prese... more Road traffic control rooms rely on human operators to monitor and interact with information presented on multiple displays. Past studies have found inconsistent use of available visual information sources in such settings across different domains. In this study, we aimed to broaden the understanding of observer behaviour in control rooms by analysing a case study in road traffic control. We conducted a field study in a live road traffic control room where five operators responded to incidents while wearing a mobile eye tracker. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, we investigated the operators' workflow using ergonomics methods and quantified visual information sampling. We found that individuals showed differing preferences for viewing modalities and weighting of task components, with a strong coupling between eye and head movement. For the quantitative analysis of the eye tracking data, we propose a number of metrics which may prove useful to compare visual sampling ...
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 2016
Sense-making plays an important role in Intelligence Analysis, but can be difficult to study in s... more Sense-making plays an important role in Intelligence Analysis, but can be difficult to study in situ. Thus, it is useful to exploit training exercises to study this phenomenon. In this paper two versions of the same exercise are reported: one undertaken by participants at a conference and one undertaken by Military Intelligence personnel. The behaviour of groups of analysts (experienced versus inexperienced) is considered in terms the Data / Frame model of Sense-making. The paper illustrates how Intelligence Analysis often involves parallel and overlapping explorations of data, with multiple frames that might be minimal and sketchy. The use of representations, such as link diagrams, provides a means of externalizing frames and it is suggested that these can shift the style of reasoning exhibited by the teams as the exercise progresses. Such a shift was seen more clearly in the behaviour of the Military Intelligence Officers who also spent more time developing and refining the diagrams to support the presentation of their findings.
In order to develop effective virtual reality training systems for surgery there is a need to pro... more In order to develop effective virtual reality training systems for surgery there is a need to provide appropriate sensory and performance feedback to the user. This paper aims to demonstrate a method by which performance data can be collected. This is used to investigate the effect of haptic feedback on performance. A PHANTOM desktop device was used in conjunction with a suturing simulation A pair of needle-holders was instrumented with strain gauges and attached to the stylus of the PHANTOM allowing the measurement of force application and time. Suturing performance was evaluated in terms of stitch completion time, peak force application, and the length and straightness of the stitch. The effect of the level of force feedback provided by the simulation and performance over time was considered. The results indicate that the presence of force feedback affected task completion time, peak force application and the straightness of the stitch. Task completion time was shown to increase with the level of force feedback provided. Performance was seen to improve over time in terms of task completion time and the accuracy ofthe stitch. The work has examined how the presence and level of force feedback affects performance of a simple task. The accuracy of haptic feedback is important in the design of surgical simulation systems to ensure effective training transfer. A data collection method by which objective performance evaluation can be made is demonstrated. The method can be applied to training using bench models, simulations and potentially in the operating theatre.
In this paper, the underlying theory of Task Analysis for Error Identification is presented. The ... more In this paper, the underlying theory of Task Analysis for Error Identification is presented. The aim is to illustrate the development of a method that has been proposed for the evaluation of prototypical designs from the perspective of predicting human error. The paper presents the method applied to representative examples. The methodology is considered in terms of the various validation studies that we have conducted, and is discussed in the light of a specific case study.
Crime scene investigation is a form of Distributed Cognition. The principal concept we explore in... more Crime scene investigation is a form of Distributed Cognition. The principal concept we explore in this paper is that of ‘resource for action’. It is proposed that crime scene investigation employs four primary resources-for-action: (a.) the environment, or scene itself, which affords particular forms of search and object retrieval; (b.) the retrieved objects, which afford translation into evidence; (c.) the procedures that guide investigation, which both constrain the search activity and also provide opportunity for additional activity; (d.) the narratives that different agents within the system produce to develop explanatory models and formal accounts of the crime. For each aspect of distributed cognition, we consider developments in technology that could support activity.
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 2001
Habitability refers to the match between the language people employ when using a computer system ... more Habitability refers to the match between the language people employ when using a computer system and the language that the system can accept. In this paper, the concept of &&habitability'' is explored in relation to the design of dialogues for speechbased systems. Two studies investigating the role of habitability in speech systems for banking applications are reported. The "rst study employed a speech-driven automated teller machine (ATM), using a visual display to indicate available vocabulary. Users made several distinct types of error with this system, indicating that habitability in speech systems cannot be achieved simply by displaying the input language. The second study employed a speech input/speech output home banking application, in which system constraints were indicated by either a spoken menu of words or a &&query-style'' prompt (e.g. &&what service do you require?''). Between-subjects comparisons of these two conditions con"rmed that the &&menu-style'' dialogue was rated as more habitable than the &&query-style''. It also led to fewer errors, and was rated as easier to use, suggesting that habitability is a key issue in speech system usability. Comparison with the results of the "rst study suggests that for speech input, spoken menu prompts may be more habitable than similar menus shown on a visual display. The implications of these results to system design are discussed, and some initial dialogue design recommendations are presented.
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