In and Out of the Loop: Strategic Skill and Windows of Opportunity in Discrete Process Control

Abstract

A long-standing question in cognitive engineering is the effect of computer aids on work skills. We examined the performance of human operators in a discrete process control environment. During an extended training period, humans controlled production under one of four different conditions (manual, hybrid, supervisory, and automatic) that varied the degree of in-the-loop control. After a training period all subjects transferred to a supervisory condition with two scheduling logic errors to compensate for. Training results showed that production was best overall with supervisory control, intermediate with hybrid control, and worst with manual control. Supervisory performance did not differ across the two scheduling aids. When scheduling logic errors were introduced, subjects who had trained in the automatic condition (simply observing) took longer to respond and let production drop most. Overall, performance depends on an interplay between (1) ability to identify goal-relevant cues and (2) ability to connect cues to action. Moreover, whether out-of-the-loop unfamiliarity is seen depends on how tight the “windows of opportunity” for action are in the domain.

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