Examining the Intersection of Ontology, Model-Based System Engineering, and User Interface Development: The Future of Design?

Given the increasing complexity of systems and knowledge domains, interoperability of multiple systems, differences among stakeholders and organizations, and disparity among users’ abilities and preferences have made managing complex systems to meet system requirements, while also considering user needs and limitations in human system interface design increasingly complicated. State-of-the-art tools and techniques in ontology and model-based systems engineering (MBSE) are being developed to aid system design and could be used by the human systems integration (HSI) professional to standardize the domain of knowledge and enable a common understanding. In this paper, we explore the intersection of ontology, adaptive user interface, and model-based system engineering (MBSE) to propose a future where these tools and techniques are integrated to support selection of human interface technologies in support of HSI. To illustrate these concepts, a practical application of ontology and MBSE is discussed for aiding HSI professional when selecting a proper hearing protection device for a user.