Much has occurred during the 14 years since the first edition of Human Factors in Simple and Complex Systems. The World Wide Web, which was in its infancy in 1994, has become central to many aspects of life. Whereas use of the Internet was restricted primarily to e-mail messages between academic users, it is now part of the “information society.” Without leaving home, we can order products and services of various types, engage in banking and other financial transactions, obtain information on almost any topic, and converse with other people from around the world.
One effect of this growth in use of the Internet is an increased concern with making the Internet accessible to all people, including the elderly, people with physical and mental disabilities, and people with limited education. Also, security of various forms—personal, national, etc.—has become a central issue. Despite this increased emphasis on security, new worms and viruses that can disrupt computer operations and destroy information arise regularly and cybercrimes, including identity theft and “phishing,” are on the rise. Maximizing security of all types requires that people—end-users, system administrators, and security screeners—perform security-related tasks regularly and appropriately.
New technologies have emerged that are now part of everyday life. DVDs did not exist 14 years ago, yet today DVD players and recorders have surpassed VCRs as the most popular format for home entertainment systems. Cellular phones are everywhere, even where they should not be. Cell phone use while driving a vehicle has become a central concern because it places heavy demands on the physical and cognitive capabilities of the driver. Intelligent vehicle systems now help prevent collisions and death, and assist drivers with navigation and even parallel parking. In all of these examples, as well as for many other technological advances that will occur in the years to come, usability issues are paramount. To maximize the effectiveness of any such technology, a host of human factors issues have to be addressed.
The second edition of Human Factors in Simple and Complex Systems is intended to provide students with the knowledge necessary to understand the range of human factors issues that may be encountered in the design, implementation, and evaluation of products and systems. In writing this book, we had many of the same goals as in the first edition. Our intent is to provide a foundation in the principles of human performance and a broad overview of the field of human factors for advanced undergraduate and graduate students.
The book, organized around the human as an information-processing system, introduces students to a broad range of human factors topics. We emphasize throughout the text that there is a close relation between basic research=theory and application, and focus on methods, reasoning, and theories used by basic and applied researchers. The book provides an understanding of the variables that influence human performance and the ways that human factors experts draw upon this understanding. It also offers a framework of the research process in human factors and gives students an integrated view of the current state of our understanding of the factors that influence human performance and how these factors can be accommodated in system design.
The text fills the need for a textbook in human factors and ergonomics that bridges the gap between the conceptual and empirical foundations of the field. As Gavriel Salvendy noted in the foreword to the first edition, “The theoretical approach that it takes is in contrast to the ‘cookbook’ approach frequently seen in human factors, from which students get information about specific functions or attributes that can be applied to only a particular area. Instead, this book demonstrates a general approach to solving a broad range of system problems. It provides a long awaited and much needed coverage of the theoretical foundation on which the discipline of human factors is built.”
Human Factors in Simple and Complex Systems is a complete human factors text that covers the full range of contemporary human factors and ergonomics. We wrote it for introductory courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Because the text is structured around human information processing, it could serve as well as a primary text for courses in applied cognition, omitting the chapters that cover topics not typically included in such courses.
The second edition differs from the first edition in three fundamental ways. First, we have updated and modified the textbook to reflect the current state of the field, with many new topics added to capture the tremendous changes in human factors and ergonomics that have taken place during the past decade. Moreover, we discuss concepts such as situation awareness that has come to be central in human factors but was not mentioned in the previous edition of the book. Second, we have provided a tighter integration of basic research and application throughout the text, strengthening the link between knowledge and the practice of human factors. This has resulted in reorganization of several sections and reduction in the number of chapters to 19. Third, we have made the writing more accessible. To break up the chapters, each chapter includes a separate box that discusses a topic of considerable current interest related to human interactions with computers and recent technology. In revising the text, we made a concerted effort not only to ensure clarity but also to convey the material in a straightforward and interesting manner.
Robert W. Proctor
Trisha Van Zandt