Improving System Design Through the Integration of Human Systems and Systems Engineering Models

The human is a critical aspect of many systems, but frequently there is a failure to properly account for human capabilities and involvement during system design. This inattention results in systems with higher lifecycle costs, decreased user compatibility, and the potential to produce disastrous consequences. This research presents an approach to integrating the human into system models by using two methods: static and dynamic modeling. The static method uses a user-centered design framework to create system- and human-centered models that deconstruct the system and user into their respective components. These models are integrated to create system models that include relevant information about the human and highlight potentially conflicting tasks. The dynamic method uses a human performance modeling tool to create a discrete event simulation (DES) of the system. This DES model is used to perform an analysis between system trades, by which constraints and assumptions placed on the human are verified. Data gained from the analysis are integrated back into system models in order to reflect true system performance. By applying these two integration methods early in the system’s lifecycle, system models can more effectively account for the human as a critical component of the system, thus improving system design