The Complexity of Proceduralized Tasks

Procedures are usually written as clearly as possible to make them easy for users to understand. Despite this, procedures are rarely able to provide precise instructions about every possible situation, so following a procedure can often be harder than it seems: it is not a simple task, but rather a cognitive activity that can prove quite demanding. The Complexity of Proceduralized Tasks deals with the problem of quantifying the complexity of a proceduralized task; in other words, a task written as a procedure. Procedures should be written in a way that is easy to follow, and that makes them easy to understand. The greater the complexity of a task, the more difficult it is to perform; therefore, measuring the complexity of proceduralized tasks can be very beneficial in assessing their potential effectiveness. Accordingly, this book proposes a systematic framework that is able to quantify the complexity of proceduralized tasks. This approach is designed to complement existing methods that have focused mainly on making procedures easier to understand, rather than enhancing their overall performance. The Complexity of Proceduralized Tasks will be a valuable resource for researchers and students who are interested in the provision of effective procedures for the purpose of enhancing the performance of human operators. It discusses a range of complexity factors, with chapters dedicated to such topics as software complexity, emergency tasks, and the TACOM measure.