understanding of human decision making and behaviour in particularly demanding applications, such as thecontrol of complexindustrial processes. Oneway of tryingto solve this problemwasto organise a high-level meeting where the relevant different scientific disciplines could converge and interact. Consequently three of the participants in the Bellagio workshop- Erik Hollnagel, Giuseppe Mancini, and David Woods, supported by a technical programme committee consisting of Don Norman, Jens Rasmussen, James Reason, and GiuseppeVolta - undertook to prepare and direct such a meeting. During the initial discussions the topic of the meeting was defined to be the application of intelligent decision aidsin process environments, and this in turnbecamethe title of the ASI.