The Lasting Impact of the Human Systems Integration Employee Resource Group
The first Human Systems Integration Workshop held by the Human Systems Integration Employee Resource Group in 2019. Credits: NASA/Robert Markowitz
After 10 years of making an impact on NASA and achieving its original aim, the time has come for the Human Systems Integration (HSI) Employee Resource Group (ERG) to sunset. The group has been instrumental in making changes not just at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, but throughout the agency.
Per the NASA Human Systems Integration Handbook, HSI is defined as “a required interdisciplinary integration of the human as an element of a system to ensure that the human and software/hardware components cooperate, coordinate, and communicate effectively to successfully perform a specific function or mission.”
“[The group thought] this is a way we can impact the culture at JSC so that we can disseminate the message about human systems integration and make it a social thing — but, at the same time, make an opportunity to provide training and education,” said Dr. Gordon Vos, 2021 chair of the HSI ERG.
The HSI ERG started up in 2011 when it was realized that although certain projects at NASA did consider elements of HSI, it was not being practiced in a wide and uniform manner. This understanding, coupled with the fast development of other ERGs at Johnson and major companies focusing on HSI, led to the formation of an ERG that would bring human systems to the forefront.
“ERGs form because a group of people share something in common and want to make a positive impact on their employer. [The] HSI ERG is an excellent case study of how a grass-roots effort led by just a few folks can permanently transform how business is done,” said Will Davis, JSC’s ERG manager.
The transformative efforts of the HSI ERG can be seen in their work in education and training. During their development phase, the group recognized that they had the potential to make an impact on the culture at Johnson by spreading awareness of what HSI is and why it matters. From holding training courses and three-day workshops at the center to bringing expertise to various projects, awareness of HSI’s importance spread rapidly.
“I'm proud to say that now we have more meat into [NASA's Project Management Requirements Document], which now calls out HSI as being mandatory,” said George Salazar, who was the 2011-2013 chair-elect of the HSI ERG. “We could not get that into the system back when we first started, but now it's part of [the document], which is great.”
A driving force for this ERG was developing standards and practices that would be implemented on projects across the agency. Two documents were created and circulated, which are often considered to be the biggest achievements of the group. The first one, the Human Systems Integration Practitioner’s Guide, was published in 2015. Its purpose was to guide readers in learning about HSI and how it could be implemented, as well as how teams could work collaboratively during the process. This guide, while intricate and effective, was primarily focused on human spaceflight and from the perspective of a Johnson lens. This led to the evolution of the guide into the NASA Human Systems Integration Handbook, published in 2021, which explored how HSI could be implemented at all NASA centers. The combined effort resulted in a seismic shift within the agency. Today, NASA’s project management requirements make HSI considerations mandatory, and this change can unquestionably be traced to Johnson’s HSI ERG.
While the news of the group coming to an end may come as a surprise to some, this has always been the intention.
“It was the second or third year we were in business, and David Fitts [HSI ERG co-chair elect, 2011-2013] said our objective is to put ourselves out of business,” Salazar said. “HSI [should be] common to NASA, so why have an HSI ERG if everyone understands it?”
The beginning goal was to make HSI a normal, everyday consideration. After this, the group would then disband, as they would no longer be needed. Now, the agency is in a place with HSI where the group is comfortable sunsetting. And, while it may no longer be an ERG, the group’s impact will reverberate throughout NASA in the form of a Community of Practice, where individuals will continue to demonstrate the importance of human systems in all the agency’s missions. Each NASA center has two key representatives, but everyone is invited to join the Community of Practice to help make a difference.
As it is with human space exploration, “mission accomplished” oftentimes means the end of one mission to begin another. Though HSI efforts may look a little different with a Community of Practice, the legacy of Johnson’s HSI ERG lives on in the changes that have been made to NASA’s culture and practices these past 10 years.