Abstract
An expert trouble-shooter is a subject who has a great deal of experience in his activity that allows him or her to be very efficient. However, the large amount of problems he or she has experienced tends to rigidify his or her strategies due to empirical learning and application of [symptom-fault] co-occurrence rules. We defend the hypothesis that experts’ errors depend on the knowledge of these co-occurrences. Our experiment supported this point of view: expert trouble-shooters in electronics implement non-relevant actions in an atypical symptoms configuration. From an operational point of view, human is an active component of systems and the final dependability partly relies on human reliability. More specifically, human operators are strongly involved in maintenance and trouble-shooting activities. One then has to know about the cognitive processes involved in expert error and integrate this knowledge in the design of systems.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Konradt, U. Strategies of failure diagnosis in computer-controlled manufacturing systems: empirical analysis and implications for the design of adaptive decision support systems. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 43, 503–521, 1995.
Rasmussen, J. Information processing and human-machine interaction. North Holland: Elsevier Science, 1986.
Simpson, S. A. & Gilhooly, K. J. Diagnostic thinking processes: evidence from a constructive interaction study of electrocardiogram interpretation. Applied Cognitive Psychology (11) 543–554, 1997.
Rasmussen, J. Technologie de l’information et analyse de l’activité cognitive. in R. Amalberti, M. De Montmollin & J. Theureau Modèles en analyse du travail. Liège: Mardaga, 49–73, 1991.
Patrick, J. Cognitive aspects of fault-finding training and transfer. Le Travail Humain (56) 187–209, 1993.
Bereiter, S. R. & Miller, S. M. A field-based study of troubleshooting in computer-controlled manufacturing system. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (19) 205–219, 1989.
Rasmussen, J. & Jensen, A. Mental procedures in real life tasks. A case study in electronics trouble shooting. Ergonomics(17) 293–307, 1974.
Govindaraj, T. & Su, Y. D. A model of fault diagnosis performance of expert marine engineers. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies (29) 1–20, 1988.
Joblet, L. Approches de conduite du nucléaire et répartition des tâches entre opérateurs. Training course report. University of Provence, 1997.
Hoc, J-M. Effets de l’expertise des opérateurs et de la complexité de la situation dans la conduite d’un processus continu à long délai de réponse: le haut fourneau. Le Travail Humain (54) 225–249, 1991.
Amalberti, R. Safety and process control: An operator centered point of view. Reliability Engineering and System Safety (38) 99–108, 1992.
Brehmer, B. Dynamic decision making: human control of complex systems. Acta Psychologica (81) 211–241, 1992.
Kaempf, G. L., Klein, G., Thordsen, M. L. & Wolf, S. Decision making in complex naval command and control environments. Human Factors (38) 220–231, 1996.
Flin, R., Slaven, G. & Stewart, K. Emergency decision making in the offshore oil and gas industry. Human Factors (38) 262–277, 1996.
Weill-Fassina, A. & Filleur C. Représentation et fonctionnement cognitif dansune recherche de panne d’un système d’allumage en mécanique-auto. European Journal of Psychology of Education (4) 783–102, 1989.
Besnard, D. Erreur humaine en diagnostic. Doctoral dissertation, University of Provence, 1999
Besnard, D. & Bastien-Toniazzo, M. Expert error in trouble-shooting. An exploratory study in electronics. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (50) 391–405, 1999.
Sanderson, P. M. Knowledge acquisition and fault diagnosis: experiments with PLAULT. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (20) 255–242, 1990.
Sperandio, J.-C. Les aspects cognitifs du travail. in C. Levi-Leboyer & J.-C. Sperandio Traité de psychologie du travail. Paris: PUF, 646–658, 1987.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Besnard, D. (2000). Expert Error: The Case of Trouble-Shooting in Electronics. In: Koornneef, F., van der Meulen, M. (eds) Computer Safety, Reliability and Security. SAFECOMP 2000. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1943. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-40891-6_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-40891-6_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-41186-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-40891-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive