State-of-science: situation awareness in individuals, teams and systems

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics
• Human Factors
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Situation Awareness (SA) is a widely used but debated concept in Ergonomics.
• SA has been a significant research and practice theme for over two decades.
• Existing SA models are categorized into individual, team, and systems SA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine and elaborate upon key Situation Awareness models.
• To reconcile differing perspectives on SA through a contingent approach.
• To guide practitioners toward optimal methodological solutions for ergonomics problems.

Main Methods:

• Review and analysis of existing Situation Awareness models.
• Categorization of models into individual, team, and systems SA.
• Exploration of a contingent approach to match SA models with ergonomics problems.

Main Results:

• SA models can be effectively categorized into individual, team, and systems.
• A contingent approach is proposed to reconcile differing SA perspectives.
• Matching SA models to specific ergonomics problems enhances methodological solutions.

Conclusions:

• A single approach to SA measurement is insufficient for all ergonomics challenges.
• Considering individual, team, and systems SA models is crucial.
• A contingent approach, matching SA models to the problem, is key for practitioners.