Co-Development Approach integrating Training into the Design Process

Abstract: Since the introduction of advanced automation technology within highly dynamic and complex systems, traditional approaches to training no longer appear to be adequate in preparing end-users of such technologies (Carroll and Olson, 1988). Advances in design processes have resulted in the creation of user-centered designs that employ an iterative design process that follows a cyclical pattern, where the prototype is designed, created and evaluated, throughout multiple loops. Once the final design solution is validated, a training session is organized to prepare the end-user for the Human in the loop Simulation. Since the training sessions and the preparation of these training sessions are conceived after the completion and validation of the design; any issues with the design often result in extended training sessions to compensate for human factors that were overlooked in the initial design. Nonetheless, such enhanced training “cannot and should not be a fix for bad design” (Sarter, Woods & Billings, 1997.p.1936). This research intended to consider the training from the onset of the design in order to avoid transferring the burden of a poor design onto the training. This was not fully possible in the framework of the SAFEMODE project, where this research was conducted, as some design iterations had already taken place prior to the implementation of the proposed training considerations. Instead, a training approach involving future users as part of the system design, hereafter referred to as “Co-Development”, was proposed and tested during the creation of a safety net or alert for air-traffic controllers. Building on this added value to user-centered design, we investigated: To what extent does the co-development of the training with end-users improve the training, the design, and the acceptability of the designed alert?This paper presents this Co-Development approach and the outcome of its first implementation; particularly in terms of its impact on the training, the design, and the acceptability of the alert. Specifically, this system design approach allows for human factor issues to be identified and hence corrected early in the design stage, thus yielding a potential impact on the acceptability and usability of the alert, while simultaneously affecting safety through an improved user-centered design experience. This paper also proposes a future research direction that consists of a joint training and design approach that considers training right from the onset of the first iteration of the design. As a result, the training is conceived jointly and evolves simultaneously with each design loop, further improving the design, and thus reducing the burden placed onto the training due to design shortfalls and impossible design challenges that are seemingly improbable to meet.

Keywords: Human Factors (HF), Training, Co-development, User-Centered Design, Aviation, Complex Systems

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1002389

Cite this paper:

​