ABSTRACT
Any discussion of the concept of function allocation has to start with the classic report of Fitts (1951). Unfortunately, like many other ‘classics’ in science, this one is far more often cited than it is read. This is a great pity, since a detailed reading of the Fitts report reveals many interesting and telling observations. For example, although Fitts’ name is directly associated with the work, it was actually authored by ten researchers, including the likes of Alphonse Chapanis, Walter Grether, and Alexander C. Williams, Jr. who are recognized alongside Fitts as some of the founding fathers of Human Factors. If there has been a lack of recognition of the latter contributors, there has also been a lack of acknowledgement of the actual content. The goal of the report was to improve air-navigation systems and to guide future interdisciplinary research in the area. Issues such as technical feasibility, economy, and manpower and personnel were considered only briefly while dynamic human issues such as selection, morale, motivation, fatigue and monotony were indicated as important future issues, but, were not considered in any detail in the final report. This latter point has an enormous impact when considering what was extracted and subsequently highlighted.
