Simone Rozzi

Design Sketching for Space and Time

In this paper we present a case study of how design sketching can be used as a technique for exploring and creating a common understanding between users, designers and software developers, of the representation design requirements for supporting spatial-temporal reasoning in Air Traffic Control (ATC). The safe and expeditious control of aircraft requires the ATC controller to think in terms of 3D air space, and also plan ahead in time. We refer to this mental process as spatial-temporal reasoning. ATC is a 4D (3D plus time) problem but is currently supported by 2D tools such as the Plan Position Indicator-type radar displays that are seen in ATC centres. This requires the air traffic controllers to construct mental models of the air traffic situation to ensure safe vertical and horizontal separations between moving aircraft, and also expedite traffic flow. These objectives require prediction of traffic patterns and potential bottlenecks. To explain how we used design sketching, we report on the Task Analysis of an exemplar ATC task, and the characterisation of this task in spatial-temporal terms, and how the Ecological Interface Design principle of visualisation of constraints was applied to guide the development of the 4D visual form of the representation design.

Inter-Organizational Safety Debate: The Case of an Alarm System from the Air Traffic Control Domain

The management of safety critical operations cannot be left to the initiative of those individuals directly in contact with the production processes. Society as a whole has a role. This paper explores the interface between societal components having a direct active role in the “safety debate†. The reference domain is air traffic management and the interface is among air traffic controllers and pilots – as directly involved in the management of the air traffic – and two agencies, the NTSB (responsible for safety investigation after an accident) and FAA (responsible for regulating, upgrading and training of the workforce). Recent debates in safety management highlight that safe practice is a control problem: the result of effective hierarchical transmissions of safety constraints and making the boundaries of acceptable performance visible. This work analyzes how safety constraints related to an alarm system are represented, transmitted and interpreted by several parties – all committed to safety of operations in air traffic management. A “miscalibration†pattern has emerged where the tendency to ignore the alarm was initially addressed at higher hierarchical levels in relation to alarm design, and only in 2006 was addressed in relation to the core issue of nuisance or false alerts (FA).

A Framework for Considering Spatial-Temporal Representation Design in Air Traffic Control:

In this paper we present a framework for considering the design of information visualisations intended to support 4D or spatial-temporal reasoning in Air Traffic Control. The Spatial-Temporal Framework was developed based on a cognitive task analysis of approach controllers. This work was conducted as part of a to develop a novel 4D interface for a possible future ATC system. A 4D interface is one that incorporates the visualisation of 3D space and time. The framework allows us to identify the spatial properties of a tactical ATC situation: objects, constraints and relationships; and how they are affected by the temporal attributes of the past, present, projected and intended actions. It is envisaged that this framework can provide guidance for our consideration and analytic assessment of new visualisation designs for a 4D interface.