A quiet revolution is in progress in the field of human factors. This revolution is broadly based, finding a home not only in such traditional areas as workplace layout and industrial ergonomics but also in more recent areas, such as humancomputer interaction and cognitive engineering. The revolution affects the way research questions are posed and the types of answers that are offered. No longer is a good or better solution adequate. Rather, the focus has turned to the best or optimal solution. In this article the research in optimal performance engineering is selectively reviewed. It is argued that increasing the number and range of attempts to engineer optimal performance will lead not only to safer and more efficient designs but also to an increase over the long run in the applicability and accessibility of laboratory research.
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