Grants
The group of Cognitive Ergonomics has been awarded several research grants from the Swiss National Science Fondation. The following research projects are still on-going:
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Improving work design for airport security officers
Project description
Screening passenger baggage at airports represents a demanding task with critical implications for aviation security due to the current geopolitical situation (e.g. terrorist threats). While previous research on airport security has focussed on human-machine interaction, visual search and training, less is known about the impact of work design on visual inspection performance. The main goal of this project is to examine work design in the domain of visual inspection aiming to increase performance and decrease workload.
As a complementary research goal, the project aims to develop several pictorial scales (as an alternative to verbal scales) that measure subjective states (e.g. workload, fatigue) since such scales may provide several benefits (e.g. more intuitive comprehension, increased respondent motivation, language independence). This project focuses on baggage screening at airports, but the results are also expected to be relevant to other domains of visual search and inspection (e.g. medical imaging, quality control in manufacturing). Work from a preceding SNSF-project showed the need for well-designed workplaces in baggage screening. Work design differs considerably between airports (e.g. local and remote baggage screening), but there is little empirical work from the domain of baggage screening that provides guidance for choosing between different work design options.
The current project focuses on three aspects: work schedules, time-related stressors and system design. Regarding work schedules, we will examine the impact of different regimes of rest breaks and night work. The time-related stressors at security checkpoints are notably unscheduled interruptions and time pressure (e.g. due to long passenger queues). System design is concerned with human-machine interaction by examining various design features of current X-ray machines (i.e. diagnostic aids, background colours). Since diagnostic aids pointing out threat items (e.g. explosives) are generally supportive but not perfectly reliable, there is some concern that they impair screener performance by giving miscues (i.e. aid designates a non-threat object but fails to identify a threat item within the same piece of baggage). Further pertinent system-related features are background colours of X-ray images, which are expected to have some bearing on airport security since they influence screener performance and subjective outcome measures such as fatigue and workload. We also envisage the development of pictorial scales to measure psychological constructs such as workload, trust, self-confidence and fatigue. Building on the successful development of two pictorial scales measuring usability, we will use the planned experimental work for testing and validating these four pictorial scales against well-established verbal scales (e.g. NASA-TLX).
Since screeners have good skills in interpreting visual stimuli, the use of pictorial items rather than verbal ones may be particularly useful in their domain. We also expect pictorial scales to be valuable in baggage screening given that they would facilitate comparisons between screeners from multilingual countries such as Switzerland. The development of these scales requires their validation in empirical studies, for which the experiments of the present project are very well suited. The project is expected to provide several benefits. First, an existing simulation (LIS: luggage inspection simulation) will be enhanced to model two work environments of airport security officers (local and remote screening). LIS will be made available to the research community. Second, recommendations will be made about how work design for airport security officers could be improved, which is expected to increase airport security. Third, several pictorial scales will be developed and made available to the research community, allowing a non verbal measurement of important constructs in work psychology.
Principal investigator
Prof. Juergen Sauer
Project partner
Prof. Adrian Schwaninger (FHNW)
Project Staff
Juergen Baumgartner
Daniela Buser
David Hügli
Robin Riz à Porta
Marius LatschaDuration of project
November 2019 - October 2024
Completed research projects
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Social stress, social support and performance in human-machine teams
Project description
The project aims to examine problems associated with social stressors in hybrid teams (i.e. comprising humans and highly automated technical systems) and whether social support can alleviate any negative effects. Whereas no such work has been carried out in hybrid teams, there is ample empirical work on different kinds of social stressors (e.g. bullying, interpersonal conflict) in teams comprising only humans. This work has shown a strong propensity towards field research for most stressors and is also characterised by a shortage of studies taking measurements of performance. To complement this research, a laboratory-based approach is adopted by using a computer-based simulation of a complex technical work environment, which allows measuring multiple performance indicators. The following three work-related social stressors are examined: assignment of illegitimate tasks (i.e. tasks that violate norms with regard to what can be reasonably expected from a job holder) ostracism (i.e. people being excluded and ignored at work) and negative performance feedback in performance appraisal. The three social stressors will be examined in hybrid teams, combined with the provision of social support as an antagonist to the social stressor. The focus on hybrid teams represents a novel approach and allows us to determine whether the outcomes of social stress are fundamentally different depending on whether the social stressor is induced by a human or a machine.
Three experiments will examine the effects of these social stressors on performance and on other pertinent outcome measures (e.g. subjective strain, affect). Experiment I investigates the impact of illegitimate task assignment by a human or by a machine agent. Experiment II is concerned with ostracism at work, comparing the effects of being socially excluded by a human colleague or by a machine agent. Experiment III examines the effects of receiving negative performance feedback (from a human or machine agent). Each experiment also aims to determine whether social support is effective in reducing the negative effects of social stress. The methodological approach adopted allows us to measure a broad range of outcome variables, notably objective parameters such as multiple-task performance, information sampling behaviour and psychophysiological data.
The work planned is expected to provide several benefits. First, we will gain a better understanding of the extent to which social stress and how social support affects outcome measures that have not yet been examined in previous research (notably objective performance). Second, we will increase our knowledge of how these social processes differ in hybrid team from those in traditional human teams. Third, the work will make a simulation environment available to the research community that allows us to examine social stressors in a laboratory.
Principal investigator
Prof. Juergen Sauer
Project Staff
Simon Thuillard
Juergen BaumgartnerDuration of project
June 2018 – May 2022
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Increasing the effectiveness of usability testing: the role of testing method, cultural background and system features beyond usability (SNSF-Grant)
Project description
Extending the work of a preceding SNSF-project, the project focuses on the question of how the utility of usability tests can be improved further. While there is little doubt that usability testing is an effective product evaluation method, there are a number of factors, which may have an undesirable impact on test outcomes and hence may reduce the effectiveness of usability tests. Therefore, these factors are to be empirically examined and the degree of their influence is to be determined. The factors are related to three main areas. The first area is concerned with methodological issues of usability testing. This includes the question of whether lab-based testing and single-session testing is of equivalent value as the more realistic testing conditions of field-based testing and multiple-session testing. The second area addresses the influence of cultural background on the outcomes of usability tests. For example, it is unclear how difference between cultures in voicing criticism affects data in usability testing that are based on subjective user feedback. The third area is concerned with the influence of product characteristics such as brand and visual as well as non-visual aesthetic features. In addition to the scientific implications of the work, the results of the project are also expected to provide designers and practitioners with recommendations about important issues to be considered during usability testing.
Principal investigator
Prof. Juergen Sauer
Project staff
M.Sc. Sven Schmutz
Dr Andreas Sonderegger
Duration of project
July 2012 - June 2015
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Effectiveness of explicit and implicit adaptive automation under different work stressors (SNSF-Grant)
Project description
Building on the work of a preceding SNSF-project, this project is concerned with the human-centred design of highly automated technology. Such automated technical systems may be found in industry (e.g. chemical plants) but also in non-work systems (e.g. parking assist system in car, central heating system). With a view to matching workload levels to the needs of the human operator, new forms of automation design are evaluated in a series of lab-based experiments, using a computer-based simulation of a highly automated process control system that was modelled on a spacecraft's life support system. The work involves examining different ways of assigning tasks between the human operator and the technical system, which focuses on the question whether the ultimate decision authority should be given to the operator or to the machine. For example, the decision when a task is given to or taken away from the operator may be based on current performance levels of the operator rather than the operator's preference. The advantages and disadvantages of the different forms of automation design are empirically evaluated under routine conditions but also under higher levels of operator stress (e.g., exposure to noise, sleep deprivation).
Principal investigator
Prof. Juergen Sauer
Project staff
Dr Alain Chavaillaz
Duration of project
October 2011 - September 2014
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Human-centred design and evaluation (SNSF-Grant)
Project description
The project is concerned with the evaluation of multi-modal technologies that have been developed in the IM2-NCCR (e.g., Communication board). This is achieved by conducting usability tests with prospective product users. The usability tests are carried out under highly controlled conditions in the laboratory but also in the field to take into account the wider usage context of the product user. The effects of usability testing are measured at multiple levels: user performance, user satisfaction, psychophysiology, and emotion. Furthermore, the project addresses several methodological questions, such as the appropriateness of employing reduced fidelity prototypes to model multi-modal technologies (e.g., paper prototypes, mock-ups). The use of reduced fidelity simulations is widespread in product development but little is known about the suitability of these methods in this context. The influence of product aesthetics on user reactions and behaviour is also examined. Finally, the outcomes of a usability test may also be influenced by user characteristics (e.g., self-efficacy), of which the impact on test outcomes is also determined.
Principal investigator
Prof. Juergen Sauer
Project staff
Dr Andreas Sonderegger
Duration of project
January 2010 - December 2013
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Designing automation for visual inspection tasks (SNSF-Grant)
Project description
The project is concerned with the design of automation to support operators in visual inspection tasks (e.g., quality control in manufacturing, medical diagnoses, and airport security). While these issues have attracted increasing interest in psychological research, the potential benefits of automation in visual inspection have not been fully reaped. The project aims to examine whether modern concepts of automation design (e.g., adaptable automation) can also be introduced to a domain requiring high levels of vivilance such as luggage screening. Furthermore, it aims to examine the implications of introducing higher levels of automation for rest breaks and training design. A purpose-built simulation will be developed to model the work environment of luggage screening officers. This simulation environment will be able to model different automation modes (e.g. no automatic support, system informs about presence of target, system indicates location of target) and will be suitable for use in lab-based work as well as in field research. A series of experiments are envisaged to examine the effects of providing different forms of automatic support to the operator, in combination with pertinent work design issues surrounding visual inspection tasks (e.g. rest break, training). While a central outcome variable of the reserch refers to operator performance (notably accuracy and speed in target detection), the measurement of eye movements will provide data about the operators' visual search behavior as an important complementary measure. Further measures include automation reliance, trust in automation, and subjective workload. The findings are expected to contribute to the design of suppert systems in the context of airport security and other visual inspection tasks.
Principal investigator
Prof. Juergen Sauer
Project staff
Dr Alain Chavaillaz
Duration of project
March 2014 - Februrary 2017
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The utility of usability tests : An examination of factors that influence test outcomes
Project description
The project is concerned with the utility of usability tests and how their effectiveness can be improved. While usability tests are undoubtedly helpful in identifying weaknesses in product design, there is little systematic research work examining factors that influence test outcomes. A better understanding of the influence of these factors would allow us to increase the effectiveness of usability tests. There are a number of factors that may impair the reliability and validity of usability tests, ranging from the presence of test observers to the kind of prototype being used. We have developed a model, termed the Four-Factor Framework of Contextual Fidelity, to determine the extent to which the outcomes of usability tests are influenced by various elements of the testing situation. This Four-Factor Framework of Contextual Fidelity guides the proposed research programme, which comprises a series of experiments that evaluate the influence of the four general factors (user, environment, task, technical system). Of particular interest are the elements prototype fidelity, product aesthetics and observer presence for the outcome of usability tests. The research is carried out with typical interactive consumer products (e.g., mobile phone, digital camera), including replications of test scenarios with a product to determine the generalisability of the findings. Furthermore, we plan to compare the pattern of effects for summative and formative evaluation. Finally, we will examine the transferability of the findings from the domain of consumer products to a work context. The findings of the research project will provide guidance to designers and usability practitioners about issues to be considered when conducting usability tests.
Principal investigator
Prof. Juergen Sauer
Project Staff
Andreas Uebelbacher
Andreas SondereggerDuration of project
December 2008 – February 2012
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Adaptive automation and operator state in complex work environments
Project description
The project aims to examine the needs for designing adaptive automation in non-military command & control systems, focussing on issues surrounding static vs dynamic and implicit vs explicit allocation of function. It is planned to look at these issues under different operational conditions, with environmental stressors (e.g., noise, time pressure, night work) as well as task-related stressors (e.g., high workload, emergencies). This represents an endeavour to achieve a stronger integration of the fields of cognitive engineering and stress research. The methodological approach broadly follows the micro-world research paradigm, with a computer-based simulation being developed for modelling the work environment of a command & control system operator in the domain of ambulance control. A series of three experiments will be conducted to address a number of research questions that combine adaptive automation issues with operator stress. The first experiment aims to identify the appropriate level of automation for different system functions to support operator performance under a range of operational conditions (i.e. environmental and task-related stressors). The goal of the second experiment is to compare the two principal methods (explicit vs. implicit) of taking a decision on the most appropriate level of automation, again under different environmental and task-related stressors. The third experiment aims to carry out a test of the extent to which the findings from the first two experiments are generalisability to other domains than C2-systems (e.g., process control). The completion of experiment II and III require the development of algorithms for determining the appropriate level of automation. The algorithm will use data from several sources, including performance and subjective state measures, interpreted in terms of a theoretical schema that allows allocation decisions to be made. The main benefit from the project is the development of recommendations for the domain-independent design of adaptive automation systems that are robust against changes in operator demands and which ensure high levels of system performance and safety. Furthermore, a research tool in the form of a micro-world simulation will be made available to the scientific community.
Principal investigator
Prof. Juergen Sauer
Project Staff
Peter Nickel
Duration of project
January 2008 – June 2011