Measuring Resilience

Abstract

Objective: As human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) moves to embrace a greater systems perspective concerning human–machine technologies, new and emergent properties, such as resilience, have arisen. Our objective here is to promote discussion as to how to measure this latter, complex phenomenon. Background: Resilience is now a much-referenced goal for technology and work system design. It subsumes the new movement of resilience engineering. As part of a broader systems approach to HF/E, this concept requires both a definitive specification and an associated measurement methodology. Such an effort epitomizes our present work. Method: Using rational analytic and synthetic methods, we offer an approach to the measurement of resilience capacity. Results: We explicate how our proposed approach can be employed to compare resilience across multiple systems and domains, and emphasize avenues for its future development and validation. Conclusion: Emerging concerns for the promise and potential of resilience and associated concepts, such as adaptability, are highlighted. Arguments skeptical of these emerging dimensions must be met with quantitative answers; we advance one approach here. Application: Robust and validated measures of resilience will enable coherent and rational discussions of complex emergent properties in macrocognitive system science.