ABSTRACT
Human Performance Engineering is a dynamic area with rapid changes in many facets and constantly emerging developments that affect application possibilities. Materials presented in other chapters of this section of the text illustrate the breadth and depth of effort required as well as the variety of applications in this field. At the same time, the field is relatively young and as is often the case in such instances, some “old” issues remain unresolved and new issues emerge with new developments. With the other material in this section as background, this chapter focuses on selected issues of a general nature (i.e., cutting across various human subsystem types and applications) in three major areas vital to the future of the field (1) human performance modeling; (2) measurement; and (3) data-related topics. In addition to the identification of some key issues, some speculation is presented with regard to the lines along which future work may develop. Awareness of the specific issues raised is anticipated to be helpful to practitioners who must operate within the constraints of the current state-of-the-art. Moreover, the issues selected represent scientific and engineering challenges for the future that will require not only awareness but also the collaboration of researchers and practitioners from the varied segments of the community to resolve.
