FRAMEWORK FOR MMI SAFETY ANALYSIS

This report deals with MMI - Man Machine Interaction - with the emphasis on the interactive aspects. Within the DRIVE programme, MMI is the point of contact between the user and new technology. As such, it encompasses not just the 'classical' ergonomics and human factors aspects, but also higher level cognitive issues concerning the information processing capabilities of the operator or user. For many DRIVE project implementations the user is usually the driver, but could also be a control centre operator. Following a general introduction to MMI issues in system design, there is an extended discussion of methodological matters. MMI testing is time consuming and requires the allocation of considerable resources. It is therefore of great importance that the experimental design should be of a high quality, that the correct measures are chosen, and the most appropriate tools are employed. This framework is intended as a contribution to that task. However, it is important to emphasise from the outset that this is not intended as a manual. The aim is to introduce the issues, and to raise awareness of the problems in this area; it does not set out to provide self-help. MMI is for experts, not just in design, but also in evaluation. The report also draws on the experience of MMI evaluation gained in the DRIVE I programme. This is discussed briefly in the body of the report, and a comprehensive assessment is given in an Appendix as a separate volume. Annex 1 presents as a 'model evaluation; a recent assessment of a driver information system, using a wide range of evaluation tools. Finally, two further Annexes present some short guidelines on usability and evaluation methodologies. (A)