MAP-01-011 HFI Technical Guide - Human Factors Integration ...

MAP-01-011 – HFI Technical Guide (STGP 11)• Simple to conduct with the right equipment.• Disadvantages• Data analysis (encoding) can become extremely laborious and timeconsuming.• Verbal Protocol Analysis is a very time consuming method to apply (datacollection and data analysis).• It is difficult to verbalise cognitive behaviour. Researchers have beencautioned in the past for relying on verbal protocol data (DTC134 - Militello2000).• Verbal commentary can sometimes serve to change the nature of the task.• Complex tasks involving high demand can often lead to a reduced quantityof verbalisations (DTC196 - Walker 2004).• Strict procedure is often not adhered to fully.• VPA is prone to bias on the participant’s behalf.A3.4.5Timeline AnalysisAlthough not a set methodology, timeline analysis is an approach that can beused in order to depict scenarios in terms of tasks and their associated taskperformance times. Timeline analysis can be used to display the functional andtemporal requirements of a task. Timeline analysis can be used bothpredicatively and retrospectively, and the output is typically a graph. Timelineanalysis can also combined with workload analysis to represent the workloadassociated with each task step. In terms of analysing command and control andteam-based tasks, the appeal of timeline analysis lies in the fact that it couldpotentially depict individual and team task steps over time• Advantages• Timeline graphs can be used to compare the performance timesassociated with two different systems or designs.• Timeline analysis could be used to represent team-based tasks andparallel activity.• Timeline analysis can be used to highlight problematic tasks or tasksequences in the design of systems and processes.• Workload analysis can be mapped directly onto a timeline graph. Thismakes for a very powerful analysis.• Timeline analysis is a simple technique requiring little training.• Requires very few resources once data collection phase is complete.May 2006 Page A3-32 Issue 4