Overview of MSI evaluation methodology for systems development
Publish date: 2002-01-01
Report number: FOI-R--0583--SE
Pages: 66
Written in: Swedish
Abstract
The purpose of the report is to give a general overview of common MSI (Man System Interaction) evaluation methodologies for systems development. This is intended as the basis of an MSI evaluation audit for systems engineering. It is of importance to emphasise that methodical usability efforts, in the long-term view, likely give less expensive systems by means of reduced risk for disastrous accidents and products nobody wants. If systems are to be usable, they must be developed according to man´s abilities and limitations. This requires knowledge of certain basic concepts in cognitive psychology, for instance perception, memory, attention, mental models, situation awareness and mental workload. Usability efforts require iterative design processes where constructors/designers are given recurrent feedback from the results of performed evaluations. For usability efforts to be successful, it is also necessary to perform task- and user analyses before design is initiated to get recommendations on system design and functionality. In early design phases before functional prototypes are implemented, usability experts often evaluate system /prototype functionality by means of expert methods. When functional prototypes are implemented, user evaluations are generally performed. The most frequently used methods of evaluation are discussed. Further, pros and cons of quantitative and qualitative methods are discussed. A basic structure of an MSI evaluation audit for systems engineering and design is suggested