Computer assistance, diversity and dependability

Lorenzo Strigini.
This talk at a Workshop on "Human Computer Interaction and Dependability" at the 46th meting of IFIP WG 10.4 (Siena, Italy -- July 3-7, 2004) presented some results obtained in the DIRC project.
A list of publications about this research is available, including later results.

ABSTRACT
In an ongoing interdisciplinary project, we have been studying the behaviour of fault-tolerant systems formed by humans assisted by computers. Part of our emphasis has been on how common-mode failures between the two reduce the effectiveness of computer tools in assisting human performance. Mathematical models derived from the study of common-mode failure in computer-only systems have proven useful for describing design trade-offs. However, an important factor in determining dependability is how the design of a computer aid may cause user errors. This influence depends on more factors than are usually considered to be part of a "human-computer interface".

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