User Requirements Elicitation in Security and Counter-Terrorism: A Human Factors Approach

This paper presents work conducted as part the ‘Shades of Grey’ (EP/H02302X/1) research project that aims to develop scientific interventions for the detection of suspicious behaviors in public spaces. To provide an understanding of security and counter-terrorism work in different contexts the project adopted a human factors approach as part of a program of user requirements gathering exercises. These activities focussed on the needs of different end-users and stakeholders, ranging from frontline security personnel, managers and strategic security policy makers. By taking a user-centred approach, the discipline of human factors can be integrated into the security/counter-terrorism domain to support the design of practical security solutions. This paper presents a case study investigation using data collected from three security agencies. Common themes are explored, ranging from ‘the importance of temporal measures’ to ‘enhancing positive user experiences’. These factors are discussed in relation to the practical application of human factors methods within security research.