All right, we're gonna do a quick audio check, um. Hopefully, you guys, if you can see me and
hear me, please put a one in the chat. You can just make sure that we have a smooth transition.
Excellent.
All right. Hello, Interpreter K, we see you. How are you?
All right, excellent, excellent. All right, guys,
um, hopefully everybody had an enjoyable 10-minute break. That was important,
but probably more important, I just really hope everybody enjoyed that video.
There's something about when we had that 10-minute break that just, it was just great, right? Kind of
takes you back to being a child, they're watching those Saturday morning cartoons. All right,
all right. We're going to now move into our next presentation. Our presenter is going
to be Janae Lockett-Renolds from Human Systems Integration Branch Chief, S&T.
Janae Lockett-Renolds, are you available?
Oh, there you go. Yes, uh, thank you. Make
sure you hear your audio. All right. Well, how are you today?
I'm doing well, how are you?
I'm doing great. I am doing great. So, very nice to have you, uh, come today and do a presentation,
um, today at our DHS Accessibility Day 2023. Um, so we are looking forward to having a
lot of information presented to the participants today, um. So I'm not gonna hold you up too long,
so we're definitely going to allow you to be able to speak now. And, uh, afterwards, if there
are any questions, please make sure you put those questions in the chat, and we'll try to make sure
we relay those questions over. Um, again, we're trying to make this presentation as interactive
as possible, and we want to make sure that everybody is able to get those questions across
and get as much information as possible. So, on that note, I'm going to hand it over to you.
Uh, thanks so much, Vince. Uh, it's a pleasure to be here. And Vince, do you
have the slides? I think, uh, Aunika mentioned that you guys could navigate the slides today.
Let me check with my team, let me check here. When my team will get up,
you ask, and it is our opportunity to present to you. So here you go.
Okay, perfect. Oh, thanks so much, Vince. Thank you. Uh, and on behalf
of the Science & Technology Directorate, uh, Office of Science and Engineering,
Systems Engineering and Standards Division, um, I'd like to thank you all for having us here today
to talk with you about Human Systems Integration and its implications for Universal Design.
Um, uh, next slide, please.
Okay, okay. So, Human Systems Integration, uh, really offers a human-centered design approach
that is applied within the context of systems engineering. IT addresses Human Performance and
safety in the design, development, fielding, and operations of technology and systems. So,
at its core, it's a discipline that focuses on being able to strike a balance between what we
know and understand about human limitations and capabilities with the affordances
and constraints of the system, in order to achieve mission objectives, system objectives,
and ultimately Human Performance objectives. So, within the Department of Homeland Security,
we recognize that HSI has broad applicability across the Department's Mission areas,
its systems, and end users. And so, this includes DHS personnel as well as the General Public.
In Human Systems Integration consists of seven domain areas that you see here. Essentially,
it's concerned with all aspects of systems and products that pertain to Human Performance,
accommodations, and safety. What I'd like to point out is that we have the opportunity to
collectively look across these factors, or a subset of these factors depending on the
type of system and acquisition strategy, and look at the interdependencies in terms of how
that influences design decisions. And so, as a result, HSI as a discipline tends to be scalable.
It's tailorable with respect to how best to meet the program's needs. Okay, next slide, please.
Okay, okay. So, fundamental to the HSI approach is designing with the
end user in mind. This helps to ensure that systems are usable, accessible, inclusive,
and that they support Universal Design principles and practices.
So, there are a number of things that we need to consider
when designing systems for humans to use. We need to understand what the user needs
to accomplish. You know, what are their goals? What is the system going to help them to do?
We need to understand what information they need to know, and when they need to know it.
We need to know the physical and cognitive or mental capabilities and limitations of
the end user, so that we can design systems to accommodate them. We also need to know and have an
understanding of the environmental and operational context. For example, are they multitasking? Are
they working in extreme environments? Are they working under stressful situations?
We need to understand, um, you know, essentially, uh, are they working to accomplish their goals,
uh, alone or are they working in a team? And finally, are the new job,
are the things that they're working, are they pertaining to a new job, or uh, is it a new
situation for them? Or have they done this work before, or uh, do they have extensive experience?
So all of these things are really important and critical for us to know as we work to design, uh,
technology and systems for our end users. So as we begin to think more about how they're going to
interact with the system, we can work to implement empirically validated design principles early and
often. So that we can develop usable systems with intuitive interfaces that accommodate a
broad range of characteristics, capabilities, and limitations for the end user population.
Also, you'll see here there are a couple of definitions that, um, we've highlighted from
some ISO standards for usability. Uh, across these different definitions, you can see a focus on how
well the user is able to accomplish their goals, the effort required to do so, and the overall
impact that this has on their perceptions and their responses, essentially their satisfaction.
So, you know, as you begin to think about it, it becomes clear that usability is a
multi-dimensional construct, you know, and it can be addressed from an integrated perspective.
Okay, next slide please.
Okay, so there is a wide range of end users that interact with our systems here at DHS. And so,
this includes DHS personnel, both our internal DHS users, as well as those personnel who are on the
front line of security. It also includes end users across the various first responder communities,
as well as those that consist of the general public, like travelers who are
interacting with screening technology at the airport checkpoint. Okay, next slide please.
Okay, so in addition to the breadth of end users that we have described, there is also
a variety of technology and systems that they need to accomplish their goals. For example,
ships and aircraft, surveillance and detection systems, immigration case management systems,
wearable technologies, portable handheld communication devices, protective equipment
and gear, threat detection systems, public alert and warning systems, and those are just examples.
There are many, many more. So all of these systems align with the seven core functions that you see
here, which in turn align with the Department's mission priorities. Okay, next slide please.
So, uh, how are we implementing Human Systems Integration in the department? Uh, here, uh,
you'll see a snapshot of our Strategic Mission, Vision, and goals where our mission is to enable,
train, and safeguard end users of DHS systems by implementing human-centered design approaches. Our
vision is to influence the future of work for DHS end users through human-centered design and this
includes things like policy work, processes and procedures, technological capabilities,
how we train, um, just to name a few examples.
So, as a result, we have the seven goals that you see here that we are continuing to work towards.
So, for the purpose of today's brief, and in the interest of time,
I'm going to focus on some of the work that we've been doing
in support of the first goal which is to institutionalize HSI within the department.
So, here, the focus has been on really getting HSI considerations built into departmental policy
and guidance, getting HSI methodology embedded within, uh, the various engineering frameworks,
uh, in acquisition frameworks as well as providing support to programs.
So, within the context of this goal, we can begin to think about how this
approach supports the basic principles of Universal Design. Okay, next slide, please.
Okay, so, here is a look at the acquisition and systems engineering life cycle framework,
uh, and we've had an opportunity to get, uh, HSI activities, methods,
and criteria across a broad set of systems engineering activities as well as systems
engineering technical reviews across the life cycle that inform acquisition decision events.
So, the bullets listed on this slide provide some examples of the type of support that we
give to programs. And so, from the earliest point in the life cycle, you can see that we
are really thinking about how to improve upon deficiencies and legacy and existing
systems that may have human performance, and usability, or safety implications.
And, just to give you some examples of the things that we've seen in the past, we've seen
deficiencies related to high levels of workload, sometimes it's due to manual processes, or
sometimes it's due to poorly designed automation, uh. We've also seen safety and health hazards due
to excessive noise levels, uh, lack of shock mitigating seats, and poorly designed consoles.
And, we've seen a high rate of human error and workload due to poorly integrated information
across the spirit systems. So, just to give you an idea of some of those things that we're seeing,
and when we have opportunities to get involved early on in the life cycle, or really at any
point in the life cycle, one important thing that we keep in mind is the need to gain an
understanding of the end user, also known as the target audience. Okay, next slide, please.
So, early on, you know, essentially our goal is to be able to characterize the target audience.
And so, in the box that you'll see in the upper left side of the screen, that provides some key
questions for considerations in this activity. And please note that this can include things like
physical and mental characteristics, limitations, and capabilities, um.
So, once we gain this information, in addition to understanding the deficiencies
and what capabilities are needed to resolve those deficiencies, HSI offers an integrated
approach that forms the basis for influencing requirements, as well as the underlying
behavior of the system or system architecture, Design Concepts, as well as considerations for
testing. And this includes usability testing for accessibility. Okay, next slide, please.
Okay, so ultimately, the goal is to obtain usability through Universal Design. Okay,
so the bulleted list that you see here provides some examples of areas where HSI can have an
impact. Like, for example, the design of jobs and job environments, user interface usability,
also issues pertaining to training and skill levels, language abilities,
workload, and user performance efficiency and effectiveness, um.
Human systems integration is an integrated approach that supports implementation of
Universal Design principles. It is tailorable, it's scalable, and it
can be applied across a number of different contexts to support developmental products,
technology systems, and environments that are accessible, usable, and inclusive.
Thank you. I'm happy to take any questions that we have in the chat.
All right, guys, this is your opportunity. We always want as many questions as possible,
so if you have any questions, I think this is a great time. While we're waiting for people
not to be shy, I do have a question. Well, I don't know if there's a question as much, but
can you give a very low level for people who do not... Well, one person asks, can you get a copy
of the slides? Yes, from the unknown user, we are going to provide a copy of the slides. Okay, um.
Can you just give a basic kind of overview of what Universal Design is, for those who
may not know what it is? Yes, um. So, you know, we did a little bit of research, and we've been
working with a colleague of ours at DHS that is, um, focused on, uh, Universal Design. And there
tends to be... let's see. I'm gonna see if I can pull this up while I'm talking, uh, and I'm not
sure if I can, but there are seven principles associated with Universal Design. Excellent,
and I'm gonna see if I can get a hold of those while we're talking because it's,
it's a little new to us, uh. But we are also looking at how we can support this area of work.
Not a problem. And in my team, if you guys can also look for Universal Design seven principles
to add into the chat, I think it'll be great for the team. While you're looking for that,
I also want... there's one question that came in. They said, thank you so much for
sharing. What kind of challenges have you had in integrating HCD considerations into requirements
and influencing policy implementation? No, I think that's an excellent question,
and I'll pause my search for my link to you design. No problem.
So, you know, typically, the way, uh, we are involved with, uh, requirements... so in our
office, uh, in our division rather, systems engineering standards, we have opportunities
to support, uh, The Joint requirements Council. So the requirements come in from our operational
components, and we have opportunities to review requirements documents like, uh,
the operational requirements documents and any subsequent documents related to requirements,
like the concept of operations, Mission needs statements. Typically,
we will review those documents with a focus on human centered, or on human systems integration.
We, we typically, uh, we, we see, uh, programs, uh, working to incorporate those
types of considerations. You know, in terms of, uh, the, the end user being able to, uh,
successfully accomplish Mission tasks using the system. And so, we have that lens on,
um, when we're reviewing those documents.
I think the challenge that we would, uh, say that we typically see is that we don't see those types
of requirements being identified consistently, um. So, you know, we'll, we typically will make a note
that, you know, those types of requirements, you know, have not been included in the operational
requirements document. That has implications further down the life cycle, for example,
during operational testing and evaluation. You know, where they're determining if the, the system
is meeting those requirements, and if the system is proven to be effective and suitable for use.
You know, we want to make sure that human systems integration requirements are included,
you know, as a part of those testing and evaluation activities. So it's
really important early on that those requirements are present. So, you know,
we just try to do our due diligence there to support programs in that capacity.
Excellent. Well, it's interesting. There was another question that came in that kind of
talked about what you were just mentioning there a moment ago about the implementation early on in
the life cycle. They asked a question of, "In our experience, many development teams are not
interested in including accessibility at the planning phase. What is DHS doing to implement
this within HSI?" And I'm not sure if you're going to be able to answer that one or not. I
mean, from an accessibility standpoint, yeah, no, I, I think that's an excellent question.
And I, I had an opportunity to, um, hear, uh, Mr. Floyd speak about a week ago during
the Customer Experience Community Practice. And during his presentation, he had shared,
um, some of the goals, you know, for getting accessibility included. And, you know, we thought
that there was a lot of opportunity there to, um, provide some support. Uh, we, um, you know,
having, uh, this human-centered approach, um, exists within the context of systems engineering
and acquisition. We've had, uh, opportunities to have visibility to departmental policy and
guidance, uh, with respect to these types of activities, you know, that are human-centered,
uh, related. You know, and I think that there will be opportunities, you know, going forward
to think about how we can include this content in, um, those venues, if, if that makes sense.
Currently, uh, currently, I, um, I don't see that content in those documents,
um, you know. But that's something that I think we can discuss, you know, to see how we can,
you know, get that included. Uh, we've got a colleague with S&T that is our POC for, uh,
D-- DEIA, and, you know, we've been talking with her a lot about how to ensure, uh, that these,
in these considerations are included, um, within the life cycle. And so, we've
been thinking through, uh, how we can best, um, incorporate these considerations, um, you know.
I think Human Systems Integration offers, um, you know, a pretty good approach, uh,
to begin to think through some of those important issues. So,
um, you know, definitely looking forward to future discussions, uh, about that. And I think that,
um, you know, this discipline provides a good mechanism for doing so.
Excellent, excellent. Thank you for that response. That was great. Are there any
other questions? Uh, looks like our chat slowed down there a little bit.
Um, thank you again so much for this, uh, presentation. I think it was great.
We did put in the chat, for those who did not know about Universal Design,
so there's a link in there for you to get more education on what Universal Design is.
Yeah, and I just, uh, Vince just found the link, uh. Oh, okay. And I'll also put that
link in the chat. Um, right, you know, it, it says, uh, you know, essentially there are seven
design principles for Universal Design, um, you know, and it's equitable use, flexibility in use,
simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and size
and space for approach and use. We did a little bit of digging ahead of this presentation. Many
of these principles map to the, the seven Human Systems Integration domain areas that, you know,
we mentioned earlier on. So, I think it will be interesting as we move forward to look at some of
those points of synergy and connection to support our colleagues in accessibility and usability.
Interesting. Yeah, I would love to be part of that conversation because that's going to
be a seven and seven conversation, right? To talk about what... Were you about to say...?
No, I, I said, sure, sure. Yeah, yeah. I think it would be great. I'm sure a lot of people that
are on, uh, the call today, on the presentation, would love to be able to see, you know, how they
kind of merge together between the human systems and Universal Design, uh, between those seven,
and then see how that can all work together with accessibility, ultimately for usability.
So, this has been great. I mean, these are the type... I know everybody doesn't like to get
too in-depth in the technical aspects, but I think having these cyber conversations is
very important for people to be able to pull back those proverbial layers of the onion, to
understand the importance of what we do in order to make systems to be humanistic and accessible,
right, for all people. So, thank you again, so much for this presentation. This is really good.
If there are no other questions, we're actually going to move on. And again,
thank you so, so much, Ms. Reynolds. Thank you, Vince. All right. Take care. Bye-bye.
All right, guys. I hope you have enjoyed the last presentation. All the presentations up
to this point. So, we're going to kind of change things up a little bit. All right.
We've been kind of heavy on the technical side and providing a lot of very important information
about usability and accessibility, and CeX, and HSI, and all that good stuff. However,
we are now going to have a little game. And I would like for everybody to participate
in this game. So, we're going to have now, Miss Dominique Wheeler,
who is also part of our Office of Accessible -- or Accessibility & Usability. Miss Dominique.
I have here. Pop one up here.
There she is! All right, almost. We see your,
your background. We don't see you yet. Let me make sure I can hear you also.
Don't worry, we'll be up in a moment. Whoops,
we're all waiting for, uh, Dominique to pop up. Any questions?