Search

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate an adaptive user interface that could detect states of operator information overload and calibrate the amount of information on the screen. Background: Machine learning can detect changes in operating context and trigger adaptive user interfaces (AUIs) to accommodate those changes. Operator attentional state represents a promising aspect of operating context for triggering AUIs. Behavioral rather than physiological indices can be used to infer operator attentional state. Method: In Experiment 1, a network analysis task sought to induce states of information overload relative to a baseline. Streams of interaction data were taken from these two states and used to train machine learning classifiers. We implemented these classifiers in Experiment 2 to drive an AUI that automatically calibrated the amount of information displayed to operators. Results: Experiment 1 successfully induced information overload in participants, resulting in lower accuracy, slower completion time, and higher workload. A series of machine learning classifiers detected states of information overload significantly above chance level. Experiment 2 identified four clusters of users who responded significantly differently to the AUIs. The AUIs benefited performance, completion time, and workload in three clusters. Conclusion: Behavioral indices can successfully detect states of information overload and be used to effectively drive an AUI for some user groups. The success of AUIs may be contingent on characteristics of the user group. Application: This research applies to domains seeking real-time assessments of user attentional or psychological state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory studies have shown that ecological interfaces can enhance operator performance in process control. However, limited verification and validation studies in representative settings are impeding the adoption of the Ecological Interface Design (EID) framework in the nuclear domain. A companion article presents an application of EID to the secondary side of a Boiling Water Reactor plant simulator, demonstrating that the framework can lead to display features and verification criteria relevant to supporting operators in both anticipated and unanticipated situations. This article presents an empirical study as a first step towards the validation of EID in the nuclear domain. The results suggest that ecological displays have a marked advantage in supporting operator performance during monitoring for unanticipated events as compared to mimic-based displays. The ecological displays did not support operator performance differently for other types of tasks. This study provides supporting or validation evidence that EID is effective at a scale and level of complexity that is representative of nuclear power plant operations. The implications for introducing ecological displays into NPP control rooms are discussed. Index Terms--Control room, ecological interface design, nuclear power plant.

Accident investigations have revealed that unanticipated events are often precursors of major accidents. Unfortunately, conventional approaches to interface design for complex systems do not explicitly support problem solving during unanticipated events. Ecological Interface Design (EID) is a theoretical framework for designing computer interfaces that explicitly aims to support worker adaptation, especially during unanticipated events, leading to more robust user interfaces. However, limited verification and validation research in representative settings is impeding the adoption of the EID framework in the nuclear domain. This article presents an example by applying EID to the secondary side of a boiling water reactor plant simulator. The interface designers constructed abstraction hierarchy, causal, and part-whole models to acquire pertinent knowledge of the work domain and designed five ecological displays to represent the plant processes. These displays are analytically shown to contain visualization properties that could support monitoring and diagnosing unanticipated events in accordance to the claims of the EID framework. The analytical evaluation of the visualization features of the displays also illustrates that the EID framework could be applied to improve current verification practice. A companion article reports an empirical evaluation of these ecological displays to validate whether these properties could enhance operator performance. Index Terms--Control room, ecological interface design, nuclear power plant.

This paper presents a work domain analysis of damage control on the Canadian Halifax Class frigate. Our analysis made use of the modeling construct of object worlds to help in defining the work domain to model and to help in understanding the results of this model compared to other work domain analyses developed in the naval domain. This paper makes a practical contribution through the presentation of a detailed example of work domain analysis in a new domain and a theoretical contribution by clarifying the use of object worlds in work domain analysis, analyzing the way in which object worlds can be understood in systems where the various stakeholders are closely coordinated and promoting object worlds as a way to control model scope. Index Terms--Abstraction hierarchy, naval damage control, object worlds, work domain analysis.

Abnormal events in process plants cost the petrochemical industry billions of dollars annually. In part, these events are difficult to deal with because contemporary interfaces do not adequately inform operators about the state of the process. Laboratory simulator studies have shown that, in comparison with contemporary interfaces, ecological interfaces can lead to more effective monitoring and control behavior. However, ecological interfaces derived from work-domain analysis differ from more traditional human-centered interfaces that use a task analysis to inform the design process. A companion paper demonstrated an ecological interface that integrates both work-domain- and task-based information. A second ecological interface was created, drawing exclusively from the traditional work-domain-based analysis. Professional operators used the novel interfaces in an industrial petrochemical process simulator to monitor for, diagnose, and respond to several types of process events. Operators using the work-domain-based ecological interface completed trials more quickly and executed fewer control actions than their counterparts using the current process displays. Operators using the integrated (task- and work-domain-based) ecological interface also showed these benefits and, in addition, showed improved fault diagnoses and better performance scores. The implications and opportunities for introducing ecological interfaces into industrial control rooms are discussed. Index Terms--Graphical user interfaces, petroleum industry, process control, man-machine systems.

In this paper, we present a case study wherein several work analysis methods were incorporated in the design of a graphical interface for a petrochemical production process. We follow this case from the application of the work analysis methods, through the consolidation of information requirements, to the design of a novel interface that integrates the requirements. The findings confirm earlier assertions that task-based and work domain-based analysis frameworks identify unique and complementary requirements for effective information systems that are intended to support supervisory control of complex systems. It further provides the first industrial demonstration of ecological interface forms based on integrated task- and work domain-based work requirements. Index Terms--Graphical user interfaces, man-machine systems, petroleum industry, process control.

INTRODUCTION The use of automation in complex sociotechnical systems has proved to be a double-edged sword. It is a technology that, perhaps more so than any other, speaks with a […], In this article, we propose the application of a control-theoretic framework to human-automation interaction. The framework consists of a set of conceptual distinctions that should be respected in automation research and design. We demonstrate how existing automation interface designs in some nuclear plants fail to recognize these distinctions. We further show the value of the approach by applying it to modes of automation. The design guidelines that have been proposed in the automation literature are evaluated from the perspective of the framework. This comparison shows that the framework reveals insights that are frequently overlooked in this literature. A new set of design guidelines is introduced that builds upon the contributions of previous research and draws complementary insights from the control-theoretic framework. The result is a coherent and systematic approach to the design of human-automation-plant interfaces that will yield more concrete design criteria and a broader set of design tools. Applications of this research include improving the effectiveness of human-automation interaction design and the relevance of human-automation interaction research.

In this paper, we describe the design of a decision support system for operators of model-based predictive controllers (MPC). MPC is a form of advanced automatic control that is increasingly common in process operations due to its ability to control and optimize large sections of a process. A cognitive task analysis revealed that current operating displays, which rely on displaying tables of numeric information across several display pages, do not effectively support human operator monitoring, diagnosis, and control of MPC. This case study shows how we applied representation aiding and workspace management design principles to better support the human-automation interaction requirements of monitoring, understanding, and adjusting these complex, semi-autonomous process controllers. We show how effective user interface design can significantly reduce the complexity of operating with advanced automation, and can lead to improved understanding of how the automation works. Index Terms--Automation, design methodology, display, graphical user interfaces, human factors, industrial plants, knowledge representation, process control, process monitoring.

As advanced control rooms for new process control plants are being designed, the question arises as to whether operators of the future need to have a particular set of cognitive characteristics to make the most of those advanced control rooms. This issue was investigated by examining the interaction between ecological interface design (EID) and individual differences in the context of a process control microworld. A number of potential predictors of performance were investigated, including: demographic data, type of interface, type of instruction, and data from two cognitive style tests. Eight linear regression analyses were conducted to determine which variables were the strongest predictors of performance. The results indicate that the strongest and most consistent predictor of performance was the interaction between a holist cognitive style score and an interface based on the principles of EID. That is, individuals who used an EID interface and who had high holist scores were the best performers. It seems that these individuals have the relational thinking ability that is required to exploit the value of the higher-order functional information provided by an EID interface. This empirical result has practical implications for operator selection. Keywords: Cognitive style; Individual differences; Ecological interface design; Cognitive engineering; Process control; Operator selection

The next generation of displays for soldiers may include augmented reality capabilities. One such display, called Mirror in the Sky (MitS), presents survey information in the upper visual field. Using a virtual reality simulation of a military reconnaissance scenario, we compared a MitS prototype to a familiar electronic 2D north-up map. Participants (24 soldiers) were told to follow a prescribed route, detect potential threats, and reroute around them. They also performed a secondary task as a measure of mental workload. At the end of the route, the soldiers were asked to recall the locations of threats and route changes. Participants made better reroute decisions with the north-up map than with MitS, although no differences were observed for threat detection or mental workload. They also scored higher on recall with the north-up map than with MitS. Practitioner Summary: An augmented reality navigation aid was compared to an electronic north-up map in a military reconnaissance scenario, in a virtual reality simulation. Participants made better route decisions and had better recall with the north-up map, but no mental workload differences were found between displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]