Development of a Scale for Quantifying a System's Human Factors Readiness

Abstract

Failure to fully consider human factors issues at all stages of system development can increase costs and delay system deployment. The System for Human Factors Assessment and Readiness Evaluation (SHARE) is a conceptual framework that includes a method for standardizing human factors readiness assessment. SHARE utilizes a Human Factors Readiness Level (HFRLs) scale, which includes human-factors specific level descriptions and evaluation requirements. HFRLs address a fundamental need in the human factors community to quantitatively measure system readiness from an end-user standpoint, providing a standardized way to communicate this information during system development. Human factors decision makers can use HFRLs in conjunction with Technological Readiness Levels (TRLs) to determine system field-readiness. SHARE was developed to demonstrate the utility of HFRLs to the system development process. SHARE uses human factors evaluation outcome data to calculate an HFRL score for each issue category, an overall HFRL for the system undergoing evaluation, and a prioritized list of issues associated with the system. This paper will provide a walk-through of the HFRL scale, examining how its use can assist in the system development lifecycle. It will also describe SHARE as an example implementation platform.