Performance-based evaluation of graphic displays for nuclear power plant control rooms

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThis paper reports several methodologies for evaluating the perceptual and perceptual/decision making aspects of displays used in the control rooms of nuclear power plants.This NRC funded study focuses upon the Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS) and relates the utility of the display to objective performance and preference measures obtained in experimental conditions. The first condition is a traditional laboratory setting where classical experimental methodologies can be employed. The second condition is an interactive control room simulation where the operator's performance is assessed while he/she operates the simulator. The third condition is a rating scale designed to assess operator preferences and opinions regarding a variety of display formats. The goal of this study is the development of a cost-efficient display evaluation methodology which correlates highly with the operators ability to control a plant.The initial evaluation effort was directed toward evaluating three SPD prototypical configurations: Stars, Bar Graph, and Meters (see Figure l).Displays similar to each of these configurations are currently being used in nuclear power plant control rooms. The SPDS serves as a

A Systematic Review of Experimental Studies on Data Glyphs

“…Patients rated by psychiatrists [21] Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Medical data [32] unknown Medical images [56] unknown Cars dataset [34] http://davis.wpi.edu/ xmdv/datasets/cars.html Project plans [35] unknown MM5 weather information [36] unknown Weather information [37] NCEP forecast model Weather information [42] Operational Regional Atmospheric Prediction System Modified U.S. census data [38] unknown Financial data [40] Investment in education USA (2008) Financial data [84] Wall Street Journal Index (1974 and 1975) Financial data [85] Standard and Poor's firm list (1974 and 1975) Classical music data [41] unknown k data [43] Lostpedia wiki edits Network data [44] 10 best ranked movies (IMDb) Google search results [45] http://www.google.de Marathon runners [50] unknown Power plant statistics [53] unknown Audio information [62] One laptop per child sound library Biological data [70] unknown Economic variables [77] U.S. Department of commerce & labor Tensor data [92] DTI dataset possible confounding factors, so as to better reason about changes in performance when modifying specific aspects of the same design [91], or when comparing it with other representations [48], [49], [50], [54], [64], or layouts [55].…”

“…This is perhaps not surprising as glyphs are often meant to provide quick overviews over a large number of varying multi-dimensional data points-and the use of synoptic tasks may reflect the authors' desire to test glyphs in a realistic use context. Multi-dimensional [21], [34], [36], [37], [38], [40], [42], [45], [46], [48], [49], [50], [51], [53], [60], [65], [72], [79], [88], [90], [91] [32] [38], [84], [85] [17], [33], [45], [47], [52], [57], [58], [59], [61], [63], [64], [66], [73], [74], [75], [76], [77], [78], [80], [86], [87], [89], [92] [37], [39], [40], …”

“…When comparing linear and circular position/length encodings, we found glyph ranking differences in 8 studies [24], [47], [48], [49], [50], [51], [52], [53] (Table 8). In four, the linear design outperformed the radial [48], [50], [52], [53], while in two, circular designs were better [49], [51], and in the last one performance varied according to the underlying task [24].…”

“…In four, the linear design outperformed the radial [48], [50], [52], [53], while in two, circular designs were better [49], [51], and in the last one performance varied according to the underlying task [24]. However, only three out of these seven had a similar experimental setting with respect to design variations, presentation setting, number of dimensions and task [48], [49], [51].…”

Integrating complex information with object displays: psychophysical evaluation of outlines

“…Sector and profile graphs belong to studied object displays. In some reallife simulations, the judgements of nuclear plant operators and engineers were more sensitive when using star glyphs compared to bars and meters (Petersen et al 1981), but the experiment used a problematic spatial design and results were statistically insignificant. Our experiments were more controlled by relying on psychophysical tradition.…”