Object-Process Methodology as an Alternative to Human Factors Task Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Human Factors Engineering
• Systems Engineering
• Cognitive Systems Engineering

Background:

• Traditional task analysis (TA) methods in human factors engineering are numerous and often applied successively, leading to complex and difficult-to-follow task representations.
• Existing TA techniques lack simulation capabilities, hindering comprehensive verification of human-robot system interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and demonstrate Object-Process Methodology-Task Analysis (OPM-TA) as a model-based framework.
• To present OPM-TA as a viable and unified alternative to traditional TA techniques.
• To compare OPM-TA with traditional TA methods in the context of complex human-robot system modeling.

Main Methods:

• Developed an OPM-TA model for an International Space Station (ISS) astronaut supporting extravehicular activities (EVAs) using a robotic arm workstation.
• Integrated traditional TA methods within the OPM-TA framework for comparative analysis.
• Utilized OPM's hierarchical diagrams and natural language text generation for system specification.

Main Results:

• OPM-TA modeling resulted in an executable and logically verifiable model of the entire human-robot system.
• The OPM-TA approach generated both graphical diagrams and natural language text, detailing object-process relationships at various levels.
• Model verification was achieved through OPM's simulation capability, confirming logical correctness.

Conclusions:

• OPM-TA unifies and expands the capabilities of traditional TA methods.
• The formal yet intuitive OPM-TA approach offers simulation capabilities, unlike traditional methods.
• OPM-TA has the potential to become a widely adopted standard for task analysis and human-machine procedure development and testing.