This paper describes the status and preliminary results of an ongoing research project to develop and validate user interface design guidelines for expert troubleshooting systems (ETS). The project, which is sponsored by the Systems Technology Branch of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is part of a larger research program to study the application of emerging user interface technologies to the design and development of user interfaces for Space Station-era systems. The project has two separate research thrusts. The first and central thrust is to develop and validate a set of human engineering guidelines for designing the user interface of an ETS. The second thrust is to design and implement an electronic data base to manage storage and retrieval of the guidelines. This paper discusses the human factors issues that are unique to the design of a user interface for an ETS. This paper is not intended to address the breadth of research that has been conducted on human-computer interaction with conventional systems. This topic is well-represented in established human engineering principles, criteria and practices as desribed in the literature (e.g., Hendricks, et al, 1982;Norman, et al, 1983; Smith and Mosier, 1985;Norman and Draper, 1986; etc.). PROJECT OVERVIEWSpace Station-era systems will pose unique problems for designers of the user interface. Systems developed to support telescience (ie., to command, control and monitor on-orbit instruments and resources from groundbased workstations) will employ a variety of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and wide area networks, which have received little or no formal human engineering analysis (Eike, et al., 1985). Recognizing this deficit, the Systems Technology Branch of Goddard Space Flight Center has instituted a program to identify and describe user interface requirements associated with advanced technologies. One area of study currently being pursued under this program is the design of user interfaces for expert troubleshooting systems. An expert troubleshooting system (ETS) is an automated system which employs real-time data, heuristics and rules of logic to detect, isolate and diagnose system failures, and to recommend corrective actions. These systems, which have been successfully employed in a variety of medical and industrial applications, have been identified as necessary to augment human decision-making capabilities in the complex, dynamic environment of the Space Station.The ETS user interface guidelines are being developed based on a review of the literature in three distinct areas: expert systems, automated troubleshooting and user interface design. Relevant research is being abstracted and then translated into user interface design guidelines. In order to ensure that the guidelines are both accurate from a human engineering standpoint and responsive to requirements of ETS designers, the project includes a separate validation phase.This phase involves application of the guidelines to the design and development of the user interface of ...
Remote Access Data Base (RADB) technology offers a variety of opportunities for rapidly acquiring and disseminating information. However, if the exchange of information is to be optimized, issues concerning the RADB user-computer interface (UCI) must be identified and addressed. For the purposes of this study, the major issues in the operation of RADBs focused primarily on the search and retrieval requirements of the remote user, who is unlikely to be willing to devote much time or effort to learn about the data base system. Many remote users will fall into the category of low sophistication with regard to details of the design and operation of the system. To resolve these issues, it is desirable to include features in the RADB UCI which will enhance the effectiveness and power of the search while minimizing the effort required td master use of the system. Differences in features related to the design and operation of the user-computer interfaces of the various RADB shells were identified from product literature. These differences were translated into questionnaire items designed to allow respondents to indicate the relative importance of each feature. The survey was organized into three areas: user access, search and retrieval protocols, and on-line help. Users ranging in experience from daily access to yearly access, were surveyed. The data were subjected to the appropriate statistical analyses. The preliminary results revealed that query procedures and search and retrieval protocols are of utmost importance to the users surveyed. Guidelines of RADB UCI design were developed from the results of both the surveys and literature reviews.
DoD-HDBK-761 “Human Engineering Guidelines for Management Information Systems” was extensively updated and revised to reflect 1) significant changes in computing technology, including user interface techniques and display technology, and 2) recent user computer interface (UCI) design literature. The document was updated based on literature reviews, mail-out surveys of UCI designers and users, and interactive computer interviews (using question and answer dialog). The updated document contains two main sections. The first presents a general process for conducting UCI analysis, design, development, and evaluation activities. These activities include; conduct of system functions analysis, function allocation, user task analysis, user surveys, use of UCI prototypes, and product testing. The second section contains over 1000 human engineering guideline statements which can be applied to the detailed design of UCIs. The guideline section addresses dialog design, computer control, data entry and display, job performance aiding, expert systems interface design, and data communication and protection. This paper discusses the content and organization of the document.
This presentation concentrates on knowledge acquisition and its application to the development of an expert module and a user interface for an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). The Systems Test and Operations Language (STOL) ITS is being developed to assist NASA control center personnel in learning a command and control language as it is used in mission operations rooms. The objective of the tutor is to impart knowledge and skills that will permit the trainee to solve command and control problems in the same way that the STOL expert solves those problems. The STOL ITS will achieve this objective by representing the solution space in such a way that the trainee can visualize the intermediate steps, and by having the expert module production rules parallel the STOL expert's knowledge structures. This approach has resulted in a knowledge acquisition process that places a great emphasis on both the domain expert's knowledge structures and solutions steps. Concept sorting tasks combined with scaling analysis techniques are being used for organizing and analyzing domain concepts. These techniques have been used to identify the critical STOL commands, the related concepts, and significant problems that will direct the design of the tutor's user interface as well as the production rules of the expert module.
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