Prototype Technology Appropriateness Guidelines (TAG) Tool
The goal of this research project is to set up and maintain an Internet hosted repository of HF “Technology Appropriateness” guidance material for current and emerging technologies for use by military contractors and IPTs. Selecting technology for military programmes can be affected by problems in assessing the human factors issues. This can be particularly difficult for technologies to be fitted onto platforms which have In-Service Dates (ISD) far into the future when perhaps the technologies currently only exist at a low Technology Readiness Level (TRL).
Establishing and maintaining a single technology appropriateness reference tool from a human factors perspective would benefit both engineering contractors and military procurers. This tool could help users to find and compare technologies and to share their experiences of using the technologies in military programmes.
A prototype tool has been developed to a stage where it can be demonstrated to potential users with the aim of obtaining usability feedback. The user’s home page can be customised with dynamic information such as usage data and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds and there are links and news pages. Each user can set up their own profile and exchange messages with other users. Controls are provided to improve user confidence in the data including check-out technologies for editing and a time-stamped history of changes that have been made. The database of technologies on which the tool is based has been populated with over 200 records so far.
The database is structured according to a taxonomy designed to focus on the human and encompass a wide range of new technologies. The aim is to keep the structure simple and easy to follow, whilst allowing for new areas to be added at the lower levels to accommodate emerging technologies.
The top level of the taxonomy has three areas:
- Human-system interface technologies,
- Human protection/sustenance technologies,
- Human performance enhancement technologies.
This preliminary research has shown that a potentially useful tool can be created to assist in the selection of technologies. The tool was demonstrated at the DTC’s annual plenary event with positive results. Four case studies have been developed illustrating how the tool may assist in selecting technologies appropriate for real world situations.
The next steps are to:
- Obtain clearance for the tool to be used on the Internet,
- Add more functionality to allow users to experiment with the system,
- Add guidance, HF advice and references,
- Obtain more feedback from users.
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