title: Developing a Measurement for Task Complexity in Flight.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Task complexity is regarded as an essential metric that is related to a pilot's performance and workload. Normally, pilots follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) during a flight. In this study, we developed a measurement named Task Complexity in Flight (TCIF) to represent the task complexity in the SOPs.
  
  
  METHODS
  The TCIF measurement combined four complexity components into one index: actions logic complexity (ALC), actions size complexity (ASC), information control exchange complexity (ICEC), and control mode complexity (CMC).To verify the measurement, we calculated 11 tasks during the takeoff and landing phases from the SOPs, and invited 10 pilots to perform the same tasks in a flight simulator. After flight, the TCIF results were compared with two workload measurements: the Bedford scale and heart rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of TCIF and the 4 components of the 11 tasks were calculated. Further, the TCIF results showed a significant correlation with the Bedford scores (R=0.851) and were also consistent with the difference in heart rate (R=0.816). Therefore, with the increased TCIF results, both the Bedford scale and the difference in heart rate increased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TCIF was proposed based on the flight operating conditions. Although additional studies of TCIF are necessary, the results of this study suggest this measurement could effectively indicate task complexity in flight, and could also be used to guide pilot training and task allocation on the flight deck.
authors.affiliation: School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yiyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Yanyu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000401:Aircraft; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology*