ABSTRACT
When compared with classic theories of assessment and control, the observation of the human factors experts at work on three cases representative of their activity, produced novel findings.
Indeed, it is clear that the human factors assessment does not fit any of the scientific assessment models in the literature. Although the canonical model was quickly abandoned, neither do our data indicate the characteristics of the procedural model despite what the inventory of the many procedures in the IRSN assessment could have suggested. Only the adversarial procedure was embodied in procedures and in just two cases. Furthermore, since it is confined to technical dialogue institutions, the assessment studied is also far removed from the “hybrid forum” model predicated on the integration of many different types of knowledge185.
