ABSTRACT
With the rapid development of new technologies in complex and dynamic systems, there has been recently shown an increased concern over the cognitive functioning of system users. This concern has been manifested through increased efforts to consider the cognitive components of performance as new systems are designed. To establish benchmarks for evaluating the degree to which such new design affects user cognitive functioning, it is necessary to evaluate based on performance measurement and selection of metrics. Endsley (1995) pointed out that “a measure of cognitive components is valuable in the engineering design cycle because it assures that prospective designs provide operators with the critical commodity.” This cognitive measure used in explaining performance and decision-making emphasizes the concept of situation awareness (SA) in the decision process. Endsley (1988, p. 97) defined SA as “a person’s perception of the elements of the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of
their meaning and the projection of their status in the near future.” It is an understanding of the state of the environment.
