Developing complex systems - Incorporating human variability into the process

Abstract

Few researchers have addressed human variability in process modeling or in process centered environments, even though such variability can have a major effect on system development. It is well known that influences, both internal and external to a person, can affect situation assessment and decision making in operational situations. In this paper, variables are defined that can act internally or externally to affect situation assessment and decision making during system engineering. The method for specifying the variance in these variables is consistent with the principles of the selected process modeling paradigm. Multiple states and state values are attached to the variables, and methods to alter the influence of simulated variables on individual and team behavior during system development are proposed.