One way to improve defense acquisitions: Human systems integration.

• Author: Gomez, Gary
• Position: VIEWPOINT

Many of the current acquisition reform initiatives have been focused on programmatic and bureaucratic changes. The system design and development protocols are also ripe for review and improvement, to include ensuring that tools already in the acquisition framework are used.

One of those tools is human systems integration, or HSI. It is a discipline that contributes to improved system design, development and mission effectiveness.

The Defense Department has invested in this capability yet the use of HSI is often overshadowed by the desire to add system functions before assessing human functionality.

HSI must become a more prominent and consistent component in the acquisition process, which includes being an evaluation factor during source selection.

The U.S. Air Force defines human systems integration as "integrated and comprehensive analysis, design, and assessment of requirements, concepts and resources for system manpower, personnel, environment, training, safety, occupational health, habitability, personnel survivability and human factors engineering."

The Air Force further defines human factors engineering as "the comprehensive integration of human capabilities and limitations (cognitive, physical, sensory and team dynamic) into systems design, to optimize human interfaces to facilitate human performance in training operation, maintenance, support and sustainment of a system."

Simply put, HSI works to ensure that defense systems meet fundamental cognitive and physiological needs of the users and improves system reliability, efficiency and safety.

From an acquisition perspective, the goal is an efficient design and development process that addresses and incorporates user requirements before limited-rate or full-scale production. If HSI is not applied then it is likely that the system will not interact with the human properly and will require added time to field the system, added cost to redesign and redevelop the system, or require human interaction mitigation procedures, which will greatly reduce mission effectiveness.

The International Council on Systems Engineering states that "as a management strategy, HSI helps to ensure that human-related concerns are properly considered in an acquisition program."

For maximum effect, HSI is applied early in the design and development process to ensure the system is built to accommodate characteristics of the user population.

HSI improves human interaction with autonomous and decision support...