Methodologies for the Evaluation of CRT Displays a

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a series of experiments that have been conducted by the Human Factors Research Branch for the purpose of developing objective methods that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of cathod ray tube (CRT) generated displays in improving reactor operator performance. The results of this work can provide a basis for the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) to objectively evaluate specific licensee-developed display designs. The following methods have been developed: (1) Psychophysics – short exposure of static display types were presented to subjects who were tasked to report status of a given parameter; (2) Multidimensional Rating Scale – paper and pencil instrument employed by subjects to rate the features of a display type across a variety of psychological dimensions; (3) Checklist Evaluation – a paper and pencil instrument employed by subjects to assess particular display types according to a set of human engineering criteria; (4) Noninteractive Evaluation – a formal experiment where the subjects were requested to identify dynamic simulated transients using various display types; and (5) Interactive Evaluation – similar to the noninteractive, but the subjects interacted with the simulator using a touch screen to mitigate transient events.