Making Behavioral Data Useful for System Design Applications: Development of the Engineering Data Compendium

In spite of the critical need to match the capabilities of complex human-interfaced systems to the capabilities and limitations of the human operator, relevant research findings on human perception and performance are seldom given systematic consideration in the design of control and display systems. A major reason is that the costs and risks associated with accessing, interpreting, and applying these data are unacceptably high to designers already overburdened with technical information. To help reduce these costs, the Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers (IPID) program has developed: (1) a procedure for compiling and integrating widely scattered human performance research data with potential application in system design; and (2) a format for presenting these data so they can be used directly by practitioners to support design decisions and trade-offs. This data consolidation procedure and presentation format have been used to produce a full-scale demonstration data resource, the Engineering Data Compendium, that integrates information from over 75 subareas of human perception and performance into a 4-volume reference work for designers.