Should We Design H uman-M achine I nterfaces for Specifiable Human Tasks or to Afford H uman I ngenuity - And How?

摘要

As the complexity of our information systems continues to increase, it becomes ever more important to design human computer interfaces that enable the user to make effective use of large, digitized data-sets. This is becoming particularly important in the domain of naval command and control where operator support is required to explore large problem spaces, to communicate with other members of the Action Information Organisation, to make effective decisions and promulgate directions to others. In the face of increasing complexity and digitization, two competing approaches to such operator interface design have come to the fore. The first takes a reductionist view and designs for identified or predicted tasks that are undertaken within predicted situations, while the second takes a holistic approach and attempts to support operators across the entire range of work tasks, and the tactical situations within which they might be expected to perform. The first lends itself to an incremental approach that resonates strongly with users of the current generation of mobile device applications, while the second must, of necessity, attempt to identify and implement a complete set of information and decision-support requirements. This paper will discuss observations and approaches to the issue that have arisen in the realm of Defence research and development.