D. Harris (Ed.): Engin. Psychol. and Cog. Ergonomics, HCII 2007, LNAI 4562, pp. 760–769, 2007. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007 Human Integration in the Lifecycle of Aviation Systems Nick McDonald Aerospace Psychology Research Group, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland nick.mcdonald@tcd.ie Abstract. While Human Factors is perhaps the most critical discipline to improving aviation safety, research and development is disproportionately small-scale, fragmented and unsustained. The key issue is the delivery of Human Factors knowledge throughout the system to improve design, operation or monitoring. A systems integration approach to technology development and innovation incorporates user requirements at all stages of the system life-cycle. The goal of the HILAS project is to develop and demonstrate such an integrated model of Human Factors research, practice and integrated application, linking design and operation – in a ‘system life-cycle approach’. A central challenge is to demonstrate how to integrate models of the human operator, which demonstrate the influences on human performance, with wider system models that encompass the influences on system performance. Keywords: aviation, Human Factors, safety, research capability, operational performance, system improvement, system life-cycle, innovation, system models. 1 Introduction In a complex ‘system of systems’ like aviation, the human operator (pilot, cabin crew, ATC, maintenance technician) plays and will continue to play a critical role both within and between systems. The requirements of this role cannot be simply specified in a set of guidelines – as a recipe for ‘human centred-design’. Human Factors has moved beyond analysing human fallibility and related performance deficits. It is increasingly addressing how people behave in normal operational contexts and how performance in such contexts can be better supported by design for use, by better planning and operational management and by quality and safety management systems. As new information technologies make possible the increasing integration of the ‘systems of systems’ of aviation, it becomes urgent to understand more comprehensively the human role in the system context. This inevitably extends the scope of what has traditionally been regarded as the domain of ‘Human Factors’. This requires an integrated approach, which systematically generates knowledge about the human aspects of the system at the operational end and transforms this ‘knowledge about’ into an active knowledge resource for more effective management and operational systems and better, more innovative, design. The challenge is to develop and demonstrate an integrated model of Human Factors research, practice