Evaluation of NextGen Air Traffic Control Alarms and Alerts Using Cognitive Walkthrough Method

Abstract

In the air traffic control domain, there are no clear distinctions in the definition of critical safety messages, such as alarms and alerts. We therefore created a categorization scheme to distinguish alarms from the alerts and applied it to NextGen air traffic control systems: Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS), En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM), and Data Communications. Controllers then evaluated the effectiveness of the alarms and alerts of these NextGen systems. We used Cognitive Walkthrough method with the “thinking aloud” procedure to collect their spontaneous and immediate evaluation. Based on these evaluations, we present recommendations for the future NextGen air traffic control alarm and alert design.

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