| Research in judgement and decision making, problem solving, and artificial intelligence, motivate the development of Focused System Examination. This problem identification tool facilitates user understanding of complex, poorly understood systems through two components, a graphical representation and an algorithm for development and inquiry. The Hierarchical System Representation is a graphical model of the system. It is the product of significant modifications to integration definition for function modeling (IDEF0). A revised labeling protocol simplifies user navigation of the model and facilitates diagram expansion to more abstract descriptions of system functionality. The second component, the Systematic Model Investigation algorithm, guides the user through the process of developing understanding of the system through problem identification. Focused System Examination is unique in that limited prior knowledge or documentation of a system is necessary to start an investigation. Results of a controlled experiment successfully demonstrate that research participants perform better with Focused System Examination than with fault trees when locating faults creating chain reactions of salient symptoms in an unfamiliar complex system. |
