THEORETICAL PROBLEMS IN MAN-MACHINE SYSTEMS AND THEIR EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION

This paper focuses on the main theoretical issues in today's man-machi ne systems research and applications. The following problem areas are discussed: (1) modeling human performance and mental workload describi ng the state of the art as well as major methodological difficulties; (2) task allocation and decision support with emphasis on human-center ed perspective on cooperative problem solving, integrated automation, and distributed decision-making in teams; (3) man-machine interfaces, outlining some presentation and dialogue issues; (4) design problems, stressing the need for early active participation of man-machine syste ms specialists, and the usefulness of guidelines; and, finally, (5) ev aluation and experimental validation, with focus on laboratory and fie ld evaluations, experimental design and validation, as well as model-d riven experimentation. The importance of man-machine systems contribut ions to the design of better technical systems and their user acceptab ility is emphasized.