A taxonomy of interactions in socio-technical systems: A functional perspective

Area of Science:

• Socio-technical systems theory
• Resilience engineering
• Human-computer interaction

Background:

• Understanding interactions is crucial for socio-technical systems theory and resilience.
• A comprehensive taxonomy of interactions is currently lacking.
• Existing methods may not fully capture interaction dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a holistic taxonomy of interactions for use with the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM).
• To provide a structured approach for describing and analyzing interactions within complex systems.
• To enhance the modeling capabilities of FRAM for resilience engineering.

Main Methods:

• Development of a nine-criterion taxonomy for interaction analysis.
• Proposal of two descriptors per criterion: appearance and variability.
• Application and validation of the taxonomy using three distinct case studies (ATM, university teaching, manufacturing).

Main Results:

• The taxonomy effectively categorizes interactions based on defined criteria.
• Case studies demonstrate the taxonomy's utility in identifying leverage points for system design.
• Modeling interaction variability alongside output variability in FRAM models is shown to be valuable.

Conclusions:

• The proposed taxonomy offers a structured framework for analyzing interactions in socio-technical systems.
• Incorporating interaction variability into FRAM enhances system analysis and resilience engineering.
• The taxonomy provides a valuable tool for designing more robust and resilient work systems.