Course Information
OSU Catalog Description
IE 599. ST/HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING II (4).
Advanced topics in human factors engineering, including: advanced human-machine systems engineering; human cognition and its impacts on the operation of complex, high-risk systems; cognitive task analysis; mental models; human factors requirements, human error; human factors in important human-machine system domains, such as healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing; and recent developments in human factors research and engineering. PREREQS: IE 545
Meeting Times and Location
Lecture: MW 1400-1550 in ROG 332
Instructor: Dr. Ken Funk
E-mail: funkk@engr.orst.edu Phone: 541-737-2357 Office: Rogers 212 Office Hours: or when the door is open, or by appointment
Mon
Wed
Fri1600 - 1700
1600 - 1700
1400 - 1500
Required Texts
- Kahneman, Daniel (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Crandall, B., Klein, G., & Hoffman, R.R. (2006). Working Minds: A Practitioner's Guide to Cognitive Task Analysis. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this course students should be able, without reference to resources, to:
- explain the role and the significance of human cognition in complex, high-risk domains, like aviation, healthcare, military operations, and manufacturing;
- describe major elements of human cognition and give examples from these or other domains;
- explain human error in terms of human cognitive processes; and
- use Cognitive Task Analysis to identify vulnerabilities to human error, identify equipment design or training needs and requirements, or discover general human cognitive capabilities and limitations.
Coursework
Class Meetings
Class meetings will generally consist of discussion of the readings assigned for those days. In preparation for each discussion, each student shall read the assignment and prepare written responses to the Discussion Questions for that reading.
Discussion Questions
Answers to Discussion Questions shall be complete and clear, but they need not be in grammatically perfect prose: bulleted lists or outlines will be sufficent. A reader must be able to get the main points and see that the author thought carefully about the questions before answering them.
Examinations
Examinations will cover readings and discussions. The midterm examination will be over all of them covered from the beginning of the term through the preceding class meeting. The final examination will be comprehensive, but will focus on the material from the class after the midterm examination through the end of the term. Both exams will be closed book, closed notes, but a memory aid consisting of one 8½" x 11" sheet of paper (both sides) may be used for each exam.
Literature Review
Each student shall choose a topic from Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow and do a literature review of that topic, looking into at least six primary sources and preparing a summary and synthesis. The summary shall consist of an original abstract of each source; the synthesis may be in the form of a narrative, a table, a model, or another form approved by the instructor. In-class oral progress reports will be required. Details concerning this assignment will be provided in class.
Cognitive Task Analysis Project
Each student shall also do a Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) in a domain of his or her choosing that is acceptable to the instructor and apply principles from Thinking, Fast and Slow to identify vulnerabilities to human error in that domain. Deliverables will include an IDEF0 task model of the domain and its context, a concept map of the domain, and CTA using another appropriate method from Crandall et al's Working Minds. In-class oral presentations will be required. Details concerning this assignment will be provided in class.
Grading
Points
Grading will be based on points earned for course work as defined in the following table.
| Midterm Examination | 100 |
points possible |
| Final Examination | 100 |
|
| Literature Review | 100 |
|
| Cognitive Task Analysis Project • IDEF0 Task Model (20 points) • Concept Map (30) • Final CTA (50) |
100 |
|
| Discussion Question Answers |
credit |
(see below) |
Total |
400 |
points |
| Instructor Evaluation, based on participation | +/-20 | points |
Each student is required to present written answers to Discussion Questions at class time. If a student misses more than two sets, that student's final grade will be lowered one-third letter grade (i.e., one +/- step) for each missing set in excess of two.
Grading Scale
Points will be assigned to student work according to the above and each student's final course grade will be based on the percentage of maximum possible points earned, according to the following table.
A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F
Late Work
A penalty of the equivalent of one letter grade will be applied for each day an assignment is late.
Questions about Grading
Any questions or concerns about the grading of specific work must be brought to the attention of the Instructor within one week of when the graded work is returned.
Disabilities Information
Accommodations for students with disabilities are determined and approved by Disability Access Services (DAS). If you, as a student, believe you are eligible for accommodations but have not obtained approval please contact DAS immediately at 541-737-4098 or at http://ds.oregonstate.edu. DAS notifies students and faculty members of approved academic accommodations and coordinates implementation of those accommodations. While not required, students and faculty members are encouraged to discuss details of the implementation of individual accommodations.
Academic Honesty
It is the expectation of the instructor that any work submitted for this course is the product of the student's own abilities and efforts with respect to that work. Students are free to discuss the Discussion Questions and projects with anyone, including other members of the class, and to consult any other honorable sources, but the answers and other work turned in must represent the student's own thoughts and be in his or her own words, except where credit is given to the original sources by proper citation. Students are also subject to OSU's CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT, especially section 4.2, which defines and prohibits specific classes of academic misconduct. Any evidence that any of these expectations have not been met will prompt an inquiry, and if the findings support the conclusion that they have not, an academic misconduct report will be filed.
Schedule
Subject to change, so check this frequently.
| Meeting | Readings | Topics, Activities, & Deliverables |
Week 1: 8 - 12 January |
||
| Monday | Review of Human Factors Engineering Course Introduction |
|
| Wednesday | Kahneman Intro. & Chs. 1-4 | System 1 / System 2, Attention & Effort, Flow, Associations |
Week 2: 15 - 19 January |
||
| Monday | No Class - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | |
| Wednesday | Crandall et al Chs. 1-3 | Overview of Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA), Prep for CTA |
Week 3: 22 - 26 January |
||
| Monday | Kahneman Chs. 5-9 | Effort, Norms, WYSIATI, Judgment, Easier Questions |
| Wednesday | Crandall et al Ch. 4 | Concept Maps |
Week 4: 29 January - 2 February |
||
| Monday | Kahneman Chs. 10-14 | IDEF0 Task Models due Small Numbers, Anchors, Availability,Emotion, Representativeness |
| Wednesday | Crandall et al Chs. 5-6 |
IDEF0 Task Model presentations More CTA Methods |
Week 5: 5 - 9 February |
||
| Monday | Kahneman Chs. 15-18 | Conjunctions, Causality, Regression, Intuition |
| Wednesday | Midterm Exam | |
Week 6: 12 - 16 February |
||
| Monday | Kahneman Chs. 19-22 | Understanding? Validity? Algorithms, Experts |
| Wednesday | Crandall et al Ch. 7 |
Concept Maps due, Map presentations |
Week 7: 19 - 23 February |
||
| Monday | Kahneman Chs. 23-26 | Inside/Outside Views, Optimism, Bernoulli, Prospect Theory |
| Wednesday | Crandall et al Ch. 8 | Cognition & CTA |
Week 8: 26 February - 2 March |
||
| Monday | Crandall et al Ch. 8 | Cognition & CTA |
| Wednesday | Kahneman Chs. 27-30 | Endowment, Losses, Four-Fold Pattern, Rare Events |
Week 9: 5 - 9 March |
||
| Monday | Kahneman Chs. 31-34 | Risk, Regret, Reversal, Frames |
| Wednesday | Crandall et al Chs. 10-11 | CTA In Information Technology and System Development |
Week 10: 12 - 16 March |
||
| Monday | Kahneman Chs. 35-38 & Conclusion | Two Selves, Life, Well-Being |
| Wednesday | Final CTAs due, CTA presentations Summary & Review |
|
| Friday | Literature Reviews
due Take-home final examination distributed |
|
Finals Week |
||
| Tuesday 20 March |
Completed take-home final examination due by 1700 | |
Resources
This section provides links to course resources, which will be published as they become available.
Last update: 23 February 2018