Quantifying the effects of external factors on individual performance

Abstract

Monitoring and managing performance in the workplace is nowadays an important aspect, in a time in which methodologies like Agile push individual and team limits further. Current performance monitoring approaches are either intrusive or based on productivity measures and are thus often dreaded by workers. Moreover, these approaches do not take into account the importance and role of the numerous external factors that influence productivity. We present a non-intrusive performance monitoring environment based on behavioral biometrics and real time analytics. It monitors and analyzes 15 features extracted from the workers’ interaction with the computer and can provide a measure of performance that is completely transparent. This measure is sensitive to external factors such as mental fatigue, stress or emotional valence. We validate this environment by assessing the effects of musical selection on Human–Computer Interaction. Results show a significant improvement on mouse motion when participants listen to the selected auditory stimuli and a negative effect on typing performance, especially with stimuli with positive tension. This work will enable the development of performance monitoring and management environments, with benefits for both organizations and individuals.