Abstract
Technological advances support the display of a wide variety of text and graphical weather information in the cockpit. These advances present new challenges for ensuring optimal human-computer interaction. Usability assessments can facilitate the optimization of this interaction. The current usability assessment combined specific components from several usability methodologies (e.g., formal usability inspection, contextual observation/interview, cognitive walkthrough, heuristic evaluation). Each methodology uniquely contributed to identifying and providing solutions for usability problems associated with two commercially available weather avionics systems. During pre user-testing, two human factors specialists developed benchmark tasks and established gold standard (optimal) action sequences necessary to complete the tasks. Six IFR-rated pilots participated in user-testing sessions where task completion time and input actions were recorded. During post user-testing, error plots were created to locate and diagnose usability bottlenecks. Finally, the bottlenecks were classified into violated heuristics and potential resolutions were offered.
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