This thesis attempts to answer the question "Can we devise a language for interpretation of behavioural simulation of engineered systems (of arbitrary complexity) in terms of the systems’ purpose?" It does so by presenting a language that represents a device’s function as achieving some purpose if the device is in a state that is intended to trigger the function and the function’s expected effect is present. While most work in the qualitative and model-based reasoning community has been concerned with simulation, this language is presented as a basis for interpret- ing the results of the simulation of a system, enabling these results to be expressed in terms of the system’s purpose. This, in turn, enables the automatic production of draft design analysis reports using model based analysis of the subject system. The increasing behavioural complexity of modern systems (resulting from the increasing use of microprocessors and software) has led to a need to interpret the results of simulation in cases beyond the capabilities of earlier functional mod- elling languages. The present work is concerned with such cases and presents a functional modelling language that enables these complex systems to be analysed. Specifically, the language presented herein allows functional description and interpretation of the following. • Cases where it is desired to distinguish between partial and complete failure of a function. • Systems whose functionality depends on achieving a sequence of intermittent effects. • Cases where a function being achieved in an untimely manner (typically late) needs to be distinguished from a function failing completely. • Systems with functions (such as warning functions) that depend upon the state of some other system function. This offers significant increases both in the range of systems and of design analysis tasks for which the language can be used, compared to earlier work.

<p>This thesis is about the design and evaluation of a graphical display that aims at showing the behavior of a complex automated system in action. A problem with complex automation is that it sometimes surprises the user by performing actions that were not expected. The reason of this is poor communication of system activities. In order to study how to design for anticipative automation communication a prototype around automatic vehicle driving on highways was designed and evaluated. The design work focused on designing a display that contained anticipation as a use quality. This resulted in a display design that aimed at representing the working scene in such a way that the user would be able to recognize and compare the system view with the real situation. In order to accomplish this, three layers of information were merged together in the display, these layers were; the automaton’s image of how the world is seen, the way that image is perceived and interpreted in terms of system action necessity and out of that the actions that the system plans to perform in the near future. The evaluation of the design prototype showed that it was possible to anticipate system actions but that the information detail level was insufficient for the evaluators to completely trust system decisions. The evaluation also showed that trust can be created by letting the automaton represent the perception of the situation in such a way that the user is able to compare it to personal experience from performing the task manually. Anticipation can be created through showing what future the automaton is expecting and what actions that needs to be performed in order to reach or maintain the general system task or goal.</p>

This thesis is about the design and evaluation of a graphical display that aims at showing the behavior of a complex automated system in action. A problem with complex automation is that it sometimes surprises the user by performing actions that were not expected. The reason of this is poor communication of system activities. In order to study how to design for anticipative automation communication a prototype around automatic vehicle driving on highways was designed and evaluated. The design work focused on designing a display that contained anticipation as a use quality. This resulted in a display design that aimed at representing the working scene in such a way that the user would be able to recognize and compare the system view with the real situation. In order to accomplish this, three layers of information were merged together in the display, these layers were; the automaton’s image of how the world is seen, the way that image is perceived and interpreted in terms of system action necessity and out of that the actions that the system plans to perform in the near future. The evaluation of the design prototype showed that it was possible to anticipate system actions but that the information detail level was insufficient for the evaluators to completely trust system decisions. The evaluation also showed that trust can be created by letting the automaton represent the perception of the situation in such a way that the user is able to compare it to personal experience from performing the task manually. Anticipation can be created through showing what future the automaton is expecting and what actions that needs to be performed in order to reach or maintain the general system task or goal.