Putting the Brain in the Box for Human-System Interface Evaluation

Abstract

We describe a tool, the GRaph-Based Interface Language tool (GRBIL), in which developers can easily design, construct, and evaluate system interfaces. The GRBIL system allows a designer to graphically define a system interface and walk through a set of operator goals for using the interface. To evaluate the interface, the system automatically generates a cognitive model of a system operator (built in the ACT-R cognitive architecture), which provides metrics of time on task and potential errors. In addition, the system allows the easy incorporation of dynamic models of the external world in order to evaluate interfaces that involve continually changing environments. We discuss the on-going validation of GRBIL as it is used to evaluate a robotics operator control unit.