Dependability of joint human-computer systems

Abstract

Human-computer systems have traditionally been analysedand described in terms of their components humans and computers ñ plus the interaction. Several contemporary schools of thought point outthat decomposed descriptions are insufficient, and that a description onthe level of the system as a whole is needed instead. The dependabilityof human-computer systems must therefore refer to the performancecharacteristics of the joint system, and specifically the variability ofhuman performance, not just as stochastic variations but also aspurposeful local optimisation.