Common Human Performance Vocabulary This compilation of terms extends into display design, human computer interaction, as well as root causes analysis and other related human factors engineering fields. Acceptable margin of error — A criterion, based on sample size, which helps determine the level of confidence you can have in your research findings. Accident — An unfortunate mishap especially one causing damage or injury. Accountability — The expectation that an individual or an organization is answerable for results; to explain its actions, or be subject to the consequences judged appropriate by others; the degree to which individuals accept responsibility for the consequences of their actions, including the rewards or sanctions. Action — Externally observable, physical behavior (bodily movements or speech). (See also behavior.) Active errors — Errors that change equipment, system, or plant state triggering immediate undesired consequences. Active listening — Interviewing technique in which the interviewer rephrases participant’s responses to confirm understanding. Rephrasing should be neutral and provide opportunities for participants to describe issues in greater depth. Active voice — The voice of a verb tells whether the subject of the sentence performs or receives the action. In the active voice the subject performs the action and the direct object receives the action. For example, “The user selects the drop-down box.” The active voice differs from the passive voice where the subject receives the action, e.g., “The drop-down box is selected by the user.” See passive voice. Administrative Control — Direction that informs people about what to do, when to do it, where to do it, and how well to do it, and which is usually documented in various written policies, programs, and plans. Adverse Trend -A series of occurrences in which the frequency combined with the significance of the occurrences warrants further evaluation and/or corrective action. Affinity diagram — A group decision-making technique designed to sort a large number of ideas, concepts, and opinions into naturally related groups. Used in documenting task or content relationships, often created from card sort activities or group brainstorming. Affordance — When a control behaves as its appearance suggests. For example, a push button is said to have good affordance when it looks clickable. Examples of poor affordance: a push
Behavior — The mental and physical efforts to perform a task; observable (movement, speech) and non-observable (thought, decisions, emotional response, and so forth) activity by an individual. Generally, we treat observable behavior as measurable and controllable. Behavior Engineering Model —An organized structure for identifying potential environmental and individual factors that impact performance at the job site, and for analyzing the organizational contributors to those factors. Belief — Acceptance of and conviction in the truth, existence, or validity of something, including assumptions about what will be successful. Belt and suspender rule — A metaphor for using attributes one at a time. For example, make the header bold or increase the font size, not both. When using a belt, one doesn’t need suspenders. Benchmarking — A process of comparing products, processes, and practices against the best in class, the toughest competitors or those companies recognized as industry leaders; discovering innovative thinking or approaches. Benchmark testing — Testing an application against a set of standard best practices or established criteria. Bookmarks — 1. A list of favorite Web sites stored by a Web browser, also called “favorites.” 2. Target of a link within a Web page, also called an “anchor.” Bounded field/Unbounded field — The ability of a control to allow for freeform entry vs. forced selection from a set of options. A bounded field (e.g., list box) forces selections making it less error prone than a text entry field, which supports freeform entry. A text field with a format mask gives the field a bounded quality, making it less error prone (e.g., date fields with format slashes). Branding — The deliberate process of creating individuality and market value around the concept of a product name. Effective branding efforts enable companies to convey distinctiveness and value to their various audiences. Branding elements — Elements such as graphics, text, theme, etc. used to create branding. Breadcrumbs — An auxiliary form of navigation consisting of a trail of links from the current Web page back to the home page of a Web site. Bulletin board service (BBS) — An online service where users can download files and games, ask questions, post announcements, and hold discussions on a particular topic. Cause (Causal Factor) —. A condition or an event that results in an effect (anything that shapes or influences the outcome). This may be anything from noise in an instrument channel, a pipe
Physical Plant — Systems, structures, and components of the facility. Plant Results — The outcomes of the organization in terms of production, events, personnel safety, external assessments, configuration, and so on. Population Stereotype — The way members of a group of people expect things to behave; for example, in the U.S., up, right (direction), or red implies on or energized. Positive Control — Active measure(s) to ensure that what is intended to happen is what happens, and that is all that happens. Practicality test — A test of your task flow’s feasibility, given the nature of the users and their environment. Practices — Behaviors usually associated with a role that can be applied to a variety of goals in a variety of settings. (See also work practices.) Preference data — Data that focuses on user perceptions. Do they feel like the task was easy? Do they like the way the interface works? Usability tries to focus on performance data over preference data. Prevention Behaviors — Behaviors or practices oriented toward the prevention of errors or events. (See also production behaviors.) Primary Effect — The action or condition to be prevented. Typically the event or adverse consequence that initiated the investigation. Usually the subject of the problem statement. Principles — A set of underlying truths that can be used to both individual performance and the management of human performance Proactive — Preemptive measures to prevent events or avoid error by identifying and eliminating organizational and job-site contributors to performance problems before they occur; preventing the next event. Process — A series of actions organized to produce a product or service; tangible structures established to direct the behavior of individuals in a predictable, repeatable fashion as they perform various tasks. ProductionBehaviors — Behaviors oriented toward creating the organization’s product from the resources provided (corollary to prevention behaviors). Proportional font — A category of type with variable horizontal space between each character. The shape and width of the character determines the amount of space needed on either side of it. This makes it easier and more pleasing to read.
Significance — A mathematical term often used in statistics to show that a group of numbers differ by mathematical calculation to such a degree that the difference is not likely due to chance. The actual or potential affect to Nuclear/Equipment Safety including Design Basis, Industrial (Human) Safety, Radiation Safety, Cost and Budget, Regulatory Confidence, Environmental Stewardship, and External Perception. Similarity — The Gestalt principle of grouping that states items with the same size, shape, color or shade tend to be perceived as belonging together. Site map — A map of the Web site, displaying the navigation structure and the interrelationship between pages. Situation Awareness — The accuracy of a person’s current knowledge and understanding of actual conditions compared to expected conditions at a given time. Skill-Based Performance — Behavior associated with highly practiced actions in a familiar situation executed from memory without significant conscious thought. Skill of the Craft — The knowledge, skills, and abilities possessed by individuals as a result of training or experience. Activities related to certain aspects of a task or job that an individual knows without needing written instructions. Slip — A physical action different than intended. (See also error, lapse, and compare with mistake.) Standdown — A period of time devoted by an organization toward the education, training, and sensitization of personnel on issues associated with performance improvement. Statement of work (SOW) — A contractual document specifying the work activities or tasks to be conducted for successful completion of a project. Used by a contractor to size, plan and complete a project and used by the organization that procures the services to monitor and control the project. Storyboards — Sketches or other visuals that help depict the design concept you have planned. Summative testing — Testing done to measure the success of the design in terms of human performance and preference. Supervisor — That member of first-line management who directs and monitors the performance of individual contributors (front-line workers) in the conduct of assigned work activities. Surveys — An indirect user-centered analysis method for gathering information from a large number of users. Issues in survey design include: reaching a representative sample; participant self-filtering; question development and measurement bias; attracting enough responses.
Widgets — Slang term for “controls and displays.” Work Environment — General influences of the work place, organizational, and cultural conditions that affect individual behavior at the job site. (See also error precursors.) Work Execution — Those activities related to the preparation for, performance of, and feedback on planned work activities. Worker — An individual who performs physical work on equipment, having direct contact (touching) with equipment, and is capable of altering its condition. (Compare with knowledge worker.) Work Practices — Methods an individual uses to perform a task correctly, safely, and efficiently including equipment/material use, procedure use, and error detection and prevention. (See also practices.) WYSIWYG— “What you see is what you get.” When a computer program is capable of displaying on-screen exactly as the page will print. Sources: Cause Analysis Methods for NERC, Regional Entities, and Registered Entities. Published October 2011. North America Electric Reliability Corporation DOE STANDARD: Human Performance Improvement Handbook Volume 1: Concepts and Principles. DOE-HDBK-1028-2009 DOE STANDARD: Performance Improvement Handbook Volume II: Human Performance Tools for Individuals, Work Teams, and Management. DOE-HDBK-1028-2009 HFI-Certified Usability Analyst Program: Glossary of Usability Terms ©2002 Human Factors International, Inc.