Holly A. H. Handley

The Use of Simulation Models in Model Driven Experimentation

Abstract : In model driven or model based experimentation, the model of the experiment is a key component of the closed loop model of the process. The model is created through interaction with the team designing the experimental organizations as well as the team creating the experimental environment. Starting with preliminary descriptions, the model evolves as more specific details are available and influences the final experimental design. The methodology used to design the model reflects both the types of design information available and the underlying hypothesis of the experiment. Experiments validating fixed types of structures or processes lead to a model designed with a Structured Analysis Design Technique which leads to an explicit but rigid model design. Experiments investigating adaptation require a more flexible model which can be created using an Object Oriented design approach. This leads to a more flexible, object view of the experimental design. Either approach leads to an appropriate set of models from which an executable model can be derived. The executable model is used to carry out simulations In order to analyze the dynamic behavior of the model, an input scenario must be created based on the actual inputs that will be used in the experimental setting. When the model is stimulated with the scenario, its behavior can be observed and its performance measured on different criteria. Because it is a computer simulation, input parameters can be varied, constraints can be relaxed, and other variables (possibly) affecting the hypotheses can be explored to see their effect on the model and by inference the experiment. These results can then be made available to the design teams to influence further iterations of the design. Indeed, the model allows the consideration of many excursions, a situation that is not possible when the experiments include teams of humans.

Using the Internet to provide support for distributed interactions

While technologies like group support systems have been shown to improve the interaction process of face-to-face meetings, organizations search for ways to improve the interaction process for individuals at different locations. One solution to this problem may be the use of Internet. As access to the Internet becomes more readily available, organizations are seeking ways to take advantage of the existing Internet services and capabilities to support distributed interactions such as meetings. This paper discusses how the Internet could be used to support distributed, or virtual, interactions. A discussion of the Internet, its evolution, capabilities and the services provided is followed by issues that the use of this technology raises, potential applications and their implications, and directions for future research in this area.<<ETX>>

A Model to Evaluate the Effect of Organizational Adaptation

When an organizations output declines due to either internal changes or changes in its external environment, it needs to adapt. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of different adaptation strategies on organizational performance, an organizational model composed of individual models of a five stage interacting decision maker was designed using an object oriented design approach and implemented as a Colored Petri net. The concept of entropy is used to calculate the total activity value, a surrogate for decision maker workload, based on the functional partition and the adaptation strategy being implemented. The individual decision makers total activity is monitored, as overloaded decision makers constrain organizational performance. A virtual experiment was conducted; organizations implementing local and global adaptation strategies were compared to a control organization with no adaptation. The level of tolerance of the organization, the workload limit based on the concept of the bounded rationality constraint, was used to determined when a decision maker was overloaded: the limiting effect of the workload on performance. The timeliness of the organizations response was used in order to evaluate organizational output as a function of adaptation strategy.

Incorporating the NATO Human View in the DoDAF 2.0 Meta Model

The NATO Human View is an additional viewpoint for an architecture framework that provides information on the human in the system. This paper represents the last of three papers describing the NATO Human View. The first paper described the development of the Human View by a multinational NATO panel [Handley and Smillie, Syst Eng 11(2) (2008), 156–164]. The second paper described a methodology to use the Human View data in a simulation model in order to demonstrate the impact of the human on system performance [Handley and Smillie, Syst Eng 13(1) (2010), 72–79]. This final paper describes a methodology to align the NATO Human View with the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) 2.0 Meta Model (DM2) in order to produce “Fit for Purpose” views. These views can be used to augment the standard sets of architectural products with human-centered information important to the system description. The alignment of the Human View with the DM2 also facilitates reconciliation of different interpretations of the Human View construct.

A Network Model for Human Interoperability

Objective: The objective is to demonstrate how the Human View architecture can be used to define and evaluate the human interoperability capabilities of a net-centric system. Human interoperability strives to understand the types of system relationships that affect collaboration across networked environments. Background: The Human View was developed as an additional system architectural viewpoint to focus on the human component of a system by capturing data on human roles, tasks, constraints, interactions, and metrics. This framework can be used to collect and organize social system parameters to facilitate the way that humans interact across organizational boundaries. Method: By mapping the Human View elements to organizational relationships defined in the domain of network theory, a network model of the Human View can be developed. This representation can then be aligned with a Layers of Interoperability model for collaborative systems. The model extends traditional technical interoperability to include organizational aspects important for human interoperability. The resulting composite model can be used to evaluate the human interoperability capability of network-enabled systems. Results: An interagency response to a crisis situation is an example where increased levels of human interoperability can affect the effectiveness of the organizational interactions. The existing Human View products representing the interagency capabilities were evaluated using the network model to demonstrate how the social system variables can be identified and evaluated to improve the system design. Conclusion: By understanding and incorporating human interoperability requirements, the resulting system design can more effectively support collaborative tasks across technological environments to facilitate timely responses to events.

Trust and the Compliance–Reliance Paradigm: The Effects of Risk, Error Bias, and Reliability on Trust and Dependence

Objective: This study provides a theoretical link between trust and the compliance–reliance paradigm. We propose that for trust mediation to occur, the operator must be presented with a salient choice, and there must be an element of risk for dependence. Background: Research suggests that false alarms and misses affect dependence via two independent processes, hypothesized as trust in signals and trust in nonsignals. These two trust types manifest in categorically different behaviors: compliance and reliance. Method: Eighty-eight participants completed a primary flight task and a secondary signaling system task. Participants evaluated their trust according to the informational bases of trust: performance, process, and purpose. Participants were in a high- or low-risk group. Signaling systems varied by reliability (90%, 60%) within subjects and error bias (false alarm prone, miss prone) between subjects. Results: False-alarm rate affected compliance but not reliance. Miss rate affected reliance but not compliance. Mediation analyses indicated that trust mediated the relationship between false-alarm rate and compliance. Bayesian mediation analyses favored evidence indicating trust did not mediate miss rate and reliance. Conditional indirect effects indicated that factors of trust mediated the relationship between false-alarm rate and compliance (i.e., purpose) and reliance (i.e., process) but only in the high-risk group. Conclusion: The compliance–reliance paradigm is not the reflection of two types of trust. Application: This research could be used to update training and design recommendations that are based upon the assumption that trust causes operator responses regardless of error bias.

Data-centric development of architecture models with the DM2 and MS-SDF

The Department of Defense Architecture Frameworks (DoDAF) [1]data-centric development paradigm offers the potential for depth in architecture data and flexibility in presentation styles aimed at decision support. However the architecture development methodology advocated in versions 2.0 and upwards is a significant shift in approach, compared to prior versions. The framework specification, supporting literature and exemplar implementations fail to offer enough detail on a number of pertinent issues, among them executable modeling and architecture analysis, and the technology or tooling requirements which will facilitate their implementation. As part of ongoing research efforts aimed at addressing this gap this paper offers an overview of the literature on architecture modeling methodologies specifically tailored to the DoDAF, and propose the Modeling and Simulation Systems Development Framework (MS-SDF) [2] as a coherent and comprehensive approach for modeling within the DoDAF.

Defining Human Capability from Soldier and Task Data

The Soldier-Equipment-Task (SET) Framework identifies the three main components of a soldier system and the relationships between them. The human focused data collected by the Human Viewpoint during the system architecting phase can be used as initial reference data for the SET Framework. The Solder (or Human) Capability relationship is defined in the SET Framework between the Soldier and Task Components; this is where the majority of the Human Viewpoint data resides. This paper provides a mapping of the Human Viewpoint data to the SET Framework and develops a methodology to evaluate the Soldier-Task Human Capability relationship for use in Soldier System or other human system focused analyses.

Comparison of Alternate Human Viewpoints

A human viewpoint is an important addition to any system architecture development; it adds the supplementary information required to represent the human component of the system. However, two distinct human viewpoints have emerged: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Human View and the Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework (MoDAF) Human View. Both of these architectural viewpoints are known as the “Human View”, and while they have many similarities, each has a different set of representations and has evolved with a different focus. This paper compares the two viewpoints to order to clearly delineate the contribution of each approach to a system architecture development

Identifying Human Factors Mismatches in Amusement Ride Containment Failure

Amusement rides are a familiar and popular form of immersive entertainment. Millions of guests visit theme parks, amusement parks and carnivals for recreation every year with low incidence of injury. However, the rare event of rider ejection or extraction from restraints on a ride could have serious or fatal outcomes. This study examined human factors characteristics of these rare events to identify the nature of rider separations in relation to these patterns. Physical mismatch of patron size and the containment system was significantly associated with type of separation, with large patrons not secured and small size or cognitive disability associated with falls and ejections. This information will aid ride designers in selection of an effective containment system.