The future of man-machine interface research: a discussion and a framework for research

The British Government's decision to fund research, through the Alvey Programme, into the Man-Machine Interface (MMI) has challenged the ergonomics community to respond with an appropriate short-term research plan. Most significant of the many reasons why this response has been largely ineffective is the inability of ergonomists to come up with a coherent statement of the major research issues and to present a strategy for examining them. Some frameworks have been suggested elsewhere in the literature but here we present one which is tailored specifically to the needs of information handling systems. The approach involves a three-tiered conceptualisation of the problem area, the three levels being (from lowest to highest): 1. Traditional 'knod and dials' ergonomics. 2. The cognitive ergonomics of programme design. 3. The ergonomics of information and knowledge structures.