Customization of user interfaces to reduce errors and enhance user acceptance.

Customization is assumed to reduce error and increase user acceptance in the human-machine relation. Reconfiguration gives the operator the option to customize a user interface according to his or her own preferences. An experimental study with 72 computer science students using a simulated process control task was conducted.

Combining principles of Cognitive Load Theory and diagnostic error analysis for designing job aids: Effects on motivation and diagnostic performance in a process control task.

Two studies are presented in which the design of a procedural aid and the impact of an additional decision aid for process control were assessed. In Study 1, a procedural aid was developed that avoids imposing unnecessary extraneous cognitive load on novices when controlling a complex technical system. This newly designed procedural aid positively affected germane load, attention, satisfaction, motivation, knowledge acquisition and diagnostic speed for novel faults.

Process control and risky decision-making: moderation by general mental ability and need for cognition.

Human factors and ergonomics research could benefit from focusing more strongly on individual differences--especially trait variables. The present study suggests the analysis of moderator effects as a promising way to enhance understanding of trait variables and process control performance. Process control performance was studied by analysing moderator effects of general mental ability (GMA) and need for cognition (NC) on risky decision-making (RDM) and performance.

Assessment of structural knowledge as a training outcome in process control environments.

Objective: The objective of the present studies was to apply a novel method for structural knowledge assessment to process control to assess the potential of its measures as a training outcome.

Background: Traditionally, knowledge is assessed by verbal achievement tests on the subject matter. However, traditional methods are regarded as limited in their ability to assess higher-order learning or understanding.

The predictive qualities of operator characteristics for process control performance: the influence of personality and cognitive variables.

This article examines the relationship between operator characteristics and process control performance. Thirty-nine trainee operators participated in a 4-h training session of a simulated process control task and a testing session in which various system faults had to be managed. Cognitive ability, cognitive flexibility, self-efficacy and personality traits were measured as operator characteristics.

The effects of heuristic rule training on operator performance in a simulated process control environment.

In complex work environments, the occurrence of novel system states represents a particular challenge for the design of training. This article is concerned with the use of heuristic rules to prepare operators for the management of unfamiliar fault states. An experiment was carried out to examine the effects of heuristic rule training on operator performance and system management behaviour.