Error by design: Methods for predicting device usability

This paper introduces the idea of predicting ‘designer error’ by evaluating devices using Human Error Identification (HEI) techniques. This is demonstrated using Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) and Task Analysis For Error Identification (TAFEI) to evaluate a vending machine. Appraisal criteria which rely upon user opinion, face validity and utilisation are questioned. Instead a quantitative approach, based upon signal detection theory, is recommended. The performance of people using SHERPA and TAFEI are compared with heuristic judgement and each other. The results of these studies show that both SHERPA and TAFEI are better at predicting errors than the heuristic technique. The performance of SHERPA and TAFEI are comparable, giving some confidence in the use of these approaches. It is suggested that using HEI techniques as part of the design and evaluation process could help to make devices easier to use

Vertex identifying codes for the n-dimensional lattice

An $r$-identifying code on a graph $G$ is a set $C\subset V(G)$ such that for every vertex in $V(G)$, the intersection of the radius-$r$ closed neighborhood with $C$ is nonempty and different. Here, we provide an overview on codes for the $n$-dimensional lattice, discussing the case of 1-identifying codes, constructing a sparse code for the 4-dimensional lattice as well as showing that for fixed $n$, the minimum density of an $r$-identifying code is $\Theta(1/r^{n-1})$.Comment: 10p

Book review: Naming what we know: threshold concepts of writing studies, Linda Adler-Kassner & Elizabeth Wardle (Eds.)

Review of 'Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies' (2015) Linda Adler-Kassner & Elizabeth Wardle (Eds.), Boulder: UP of Colorado

Developing and validating theory in ergonomics science

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