A Systems Perspective on Situation Awareness I: Conceptual Framework, Modeling, and Quantitative Measurement

Situation awareness (SA) has garnered much recent attention in the human factors community. SA inherently requires a systems perspective, as it concerns the degree of adaptive coupling between human cognition and an external environment. As such, we present an SA modeling approach giving equal attention to both the cognitive and external components of a humanenvironment system, in the realm of interface-mediated, uncertain judgment. The model allows SA in these contexts to be decomposed into seven measurable components. Importantly, we discuss how the model and measures map onto, and thus complement, theories of SA (e.g., Endsley), Human-Automation Interaction (e.g., Parasuraman, Sheridan & Wickens). and Naturalistic Decision Making (e.g., Klein). A companion article describes the first empirical evaluation of the utility of this modeling and measurement approach. Our central goal is to enhance theory and measurement of SA in support of design and training interventions.