Attention Allocation within the Abstraction Hierarchy

Abstract

Rasmussen (1985) proposed the abstraction hierarchy, consisting of physical and functional system models, as a basis for interface design for complex human-machine systems. In this study, subjects used an interface consisting of four windows, each representing a level of the abstraction hierarchy, to control a thermal-hydraulic process simulation. The goal was to investigate the relationship between attention allocation strategies and performance under normal and abnormal conditions. Subjects controlled the process for about one hour per weekday for approximately one month. The results indicate that subjects who made more frequent use of functional levels of information exhibited more accurate system control under normal conditions, and more accurate diagnosis performance under fault trials. Moreover, subjects who made efficient use of functional information exhibited faster fault compensation times. These results provide specific evidence of the advantages of functional information in an abstraction hierarchy interface.