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What to Do Until the Money Runs Out: A Refinement Framework for Cognitive Engineering in the Real WorldA case study is presented to illustrate some of the problems of applying cognitive science to complex human-machine systems. Disregard for facts about human cognition often undermines the safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of complex systems. Yet single-point methods (for example, better user-interface design), whether rooted in computer science or in experimental psychology, fall far short of addressing systems-level problems in a timely way using realistic resources. A model-based methodology is proposed for organizing and prioritizing the cognitive engineering effort, focusing appropriate expertise on major problems first, then moving to more sophisticated refinements if time and resources permit. This case study is based on a collaborative effort between the Human Factors Division at NASA-Ames and the Spaceborne Imaging Radar SIR-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California institute of Technology. The first SIR-C/X-SAR Shuttle mission flew successfully in April, 1994. A series of such missions is planned to provide radar data to study Earth's ecosystems, climatic and geological processes, hydrologic cycle, and ocean circulation. In addition to JPL and NASA personnel, the SIR-C/X-SAR operations team included Scientists and engineers from the German and Italian space agencies.
Document ID
20010122283
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Shafto, Michael G.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Remington, Roger W.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Trimble, Jay W.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA United States)
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Meeting Information
Meeting: 16th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society
Location: Atlanta, GA
Country: United States
Start Date: August 13, 1994
End Date: August 16, 1994
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 505-64-53
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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