Human Systems Integration Tradeoff Analyses: Lessons Learned in Support of Naval Surface Acquisitions

Abstract

Human Systems Integration (HSI) utilizes a variety of analysis methods to evaluate systems with respect to seven key domains: manpower, personnel, training, human factors engineering, personnel survivability, habitability and safety & occupational health. A critical part of the "I" in HSI is the tradeoff analysis where system features and attributes are "traded-off" to satisfy constraints on system life cycle cost, performance, and development/delivery schedule. Members of this panel will discuss general HSI tradeoff lessons learned based on their experiences in support of Naval surface acquisition programs, focusing on the mechanics of initiating and completing HSI tradeoff analyses. These experiences include interactions with people and hardware/software (e.g., data collection, formatting, processing, etc.), timelines/deadlines to complete analyses and make decisions, and any required support activities (e.g., meetings, briefings, etc.). Each panelist will share experiences from the perspective of one of three key acquisition positions for HSI: Technical Professional, Program Manager, or Support Contractor.

Function Allocation Considerations in the Era of Human Autonomy Teaming

“…explorIng the FunctIon allocatIon trade-space Fundamentally, function allocation is part of a larger system engineering process that inevitably involves consideration of trade-offs (Holness, Shattuck, Winters, Pharmer, & White, 2011). These trade-offs may relate to concerns such as the maturity of the required technology, trade-offs across different HSI elements (e.g., personnel selection and training costs), and operational considerations (e.g., performance in routine situations vs. rarer, less well-understood conditions).…”

Meeting needs assessment challenges: Applying the performance pyramid in the U.S. Army

“…For instance, human systems integration practitioners might evaluate equipment such as firefighting trucks, carry bars for bridge construction, or handheld mine detectors with the goal of identifying potential issues or safety hazards related to the HSI domains that may affect soldiers. Today, human systems integration is commonly applied in a number of complex organizations, including all branches of the U.S. military, numerous U.S. government agencies-for example, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Federal Aviation Administration-along with U.S. government contractors (Booher, 2005;Holness et al, 2011;Jones et al, 2010;Stark & Kokini, 2010).…”