Gladden, Matthew E. “A Tool for Designing and Evaluating the Temporal Work Patterns of Human and Artificial Agents” Informatyka Ekonomiczna / Business Informatics 3:33 (2014), pp. 61-76. DOI: 10.15611/ie.2014.3.05 [MNiSW 2014 List B: 8 points]
Abstract. The measure of availability is frequently used to compare the dependability of computer-based systems. However, it is an imperfect measure insofar as two systems with the same availability can display radically different performance characteristics. Here we develop a new fractal temporal measure for work effort which – used alongside availability – offers richer insight into the performance of computer-based systems. We establish that this fractal measure can be applied to the temporal work patterns of both human and artificial agents, allowing direct comparisons between them. By analyzing six hypothetical cases, we demonstrate that this new measure reveals unique strengths and weaknesses in human and artificial agents’ work patterns that are not captured by the traditional availability measure. We also identify circumstances in which such new comparative assessment tools will become increasingly important for organizational designers and solution architects, as the development of more sophisticated artificial agents creates situations in which particular functions within an organization can be carried out either by human personnel or artificial agents.