When the 51福利 graduated its first cohort of students in the distance learning Master of Human Systems Integration (HSI) degree program this past quarter, it was not the first time an HSI graduate had crossed the stage in King Auditorium. Resident degree programs, and graduate certificates, in HSI have been on campus for a number of years, and underscore the critical importance of the human in man-machine interaction.
"You've heard of the expression 'The human in the loop?'" posed Dr. Nita Miller Shattuck, an expert in optimal performance and system design. "The Department of Defense and other federal agencies are increasingly recognizing that the human is the loop 鈥� That people are critical components in any complex system, and that their capabilities and limitations need to be researched, documented and integrated if the system as a whole is to achieve optimal performance."
The HSI program is focused on humans as a significant priority in systems design and acquisition. Given the understanding that people are critical to system development, the degree provides students with the knowledge to optimize total system performance.
With the new distance learning (DL) program, federal government and defense personnel are capable of pursuing graduate education in a more opportune way. Offered through 51福利鈥� Graduate School of Operational and Information Sciences, the HSI programs are overseen by retired Army Col. Dr. Larry Shattuck.
鈥淭he DL Master of Human Systems Integration program began in the fall of 2011,鈥� said Shattuck. 鈥淚t was created at the request of our resident master鈥檚 in HSI curriculum sponsor.鈥�
This first cohort was comprised of students from multiple military branches 鈥� a Navy officer, four Department of the Navy civilians and two Marine Corps civilians. In addition, Deborah Swain, this cohort鈥檚 distinguished graduate, is a contractor with DOD.
鈥淲e merge all the domains of human engineering to ensure that we鈥檙e designing for the human from every facet of the design, rather than trying to implement the human to hardware鈥檚 design,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n acquisition programs it ensures that you include the person up front.鈥�
The program consists of several courses in systems engineering, acquisition, survivability and much more taken over the span of two years, and is limited to 30 students per year.
鈥淭he program helped us understand the government side of HSI,鈥� Swain emphasized. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e receiving information from a program, you understand where it鈥檚 coming from and how much power you have to actually respond to the government when it comes to making changes to a contract. Communication opens up from the contracting side up through DOD and the military.鈥�
Mike Ferguson, a Department of the Navy civilian working out of the Washington Navy Yard, also graduated with this initial cohort.
鈥淚n my particular field of submarines, it鈥檚 a system of systems 鈥� So, we鈥檙e looking at dual systems themselves and how they interface with other systems,鈥� said Ferguson. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also looking at redundancy, so in some sense, you would think that human systems integration is simply a section of system engineering.鈥�
The cohort, though not physically in the same classroom like typical students, still interacted as though there wasn鈥檛 any distance between them.
鈥淚t was a lot like having a gym buddy,鈥� said Swain. 鈥淲e motivated each other to get the work done and we helped support each other along the way. It was nice to get to meet with everyone in person at graduation because you already feel like you know each other so well.鈥�
Ferguson appreciated the distance learning option that the HSI program offered, especially with his core responsibilities as a DON civilian.
鈥淚f you travel, it allows you to get work done as long as the connectivity worked,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e worked on coursework out of Japan, a few times out of Hawaii, and that made things a lot easier when it came to my job,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t gave me an opportunity I wouldn鈥檛 have had otherwise,鈥� added Kathy Ferguson, a DON civilian also at the Washington Navy Yard. 鈥淭here was no way I would have been able to come out here and get a degree. I鈥檓 very thankful for the distance learning opportunity.鈥�