A critical assessment of task allocation methods and their applicability

Abstract

This paper reports a project examining task allocation methods. The methods available in the literature and those used in practice by system designers, working on naval systems, are reviewed. The authors describe the characteristics of a naval environment as an example of an application area for which a task allocation method is required, and specify a set of requirements for methods in this area. The applicability of the methods in the literature and those in practice are then evaluated against these pre-specified requirements. This is followed by a discussion of the discrepancies between the methods in the literature and the requirements; the methods used in practice and the requirements; and the methods in the literature and those used in practice. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for further work in the task allocation domain, as indicated by the findings of this study.

Keywords:

• Function Allocation
• Human-computer Interaction
• System Design
• Job Design
• User Participation
• Organizational Aspects.