NASA Human Research Program Investigators' Workshop (2012)
HUMAN FACTORS ANALYSIS SUPPORT TOOL
R. L. Ford1, R. E., Meyer1, A. L. Sebok2, T. S. Andre1
1
TiER1 Performance Solutions, 6 E. 5th Street, Suite 400, Covington, KY 41011
2
Alion Science and Technology, MA&D Operation, 4949 Pearl East Circle, Suite 200, Boulder, CO 80301
Large-scale systems engineering projects, such as those conducted at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), involve
multiple teams of engineers working in parallel. These projects typically include numerous human factors
challenges, many of which first become evident during the integration stage. To help solve this problem, TiER1
Performance Solutions and Alion Science and Technology are developing H-FAST (Human Factors Analysis
Support Tool).
H-FAST is an on-going research and development effort to provide inputs to engineers and program managers to
help them identify and avoid potential human factors problems early in the design process. It also will provide
detailed guidance regarding human factors evaluations, and it will store data and provide feedback on the results of
these evaluations. Human factors evaluations are essential in gathering human performance data and analyzing the
usability of new design concepts. These evaluations are generally carried out by human factors experts due to the
level of expertise required. However, in some cases, it would both save time and cost if a tool is available for nonhuman factors engineers to carry out a standardized evaluation procedure to obtain the needed data and with
comparable quality. H-FAST will improve the engineering design process by providing engineers with easy access
to detailed human factors methods, relevant research, and subject matter expert contact information. This will
empower engineers to create more usable systems, thus reducing the number of design iterations and resulting in
higher-quality products.
In this paper, we describe the development strategy for H-FAST and how the tool will enable NASA engineers to
perform some relevant, formative human factors evaluations earlier in the design process. As part of the
development process, our team will create prototype versions of the tool and gather user feedback to improve the
design, and conduct a field study with a functioning prototype to determine the usefulness of the tool and how it
improves the human factors design process at NASA. This field study will be conducted on a real design project
where metrics can be collected to estimate the value of the tool for improving the design process.
4001.pdf