Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making

Operations Control Centres (OCCs) are critical structures used by airlines to oversee the execution of all planned flights, managing punctuality, regularity and customer support. In this study, we investigated the decision-making during flight disruptions inside an OCC from the naturalistic decision-making perspective. We conducted a mini-ethnography case study in a major South American airline, focussing on how functions critical to the flight disruption management cope with variability. Data collection included document analyses, field notes, direct observations and interviews. The functional description of work-as-done revealed how the OCC constantly and actively looks for signs of disruption while monitoring the normal operation and rebalancing resources. The decision-making process is distributed and decentralised across multiple functions, where experts from each function rely on a repertoire of strategies to deploy innovative solutions to dynamic scenarios. Five different mechanisms were identified that converge functions to disarm potential disruptions before they compromise the flight network, and continuously create and reinforce system buffers.

The next decade will see a rapid increase in the prevalence of partial vehicle automation, specifically conditional automation (i.e., SAE level 3; SAE, 2018). In conditional automation, the expectation is that the user is still receptive to takeover and can disengage while the automation is active, but as the automation approaches its operational limits, or the end of its operational design domain, it issues a request to intervene and the user is expected to retake control. A human–machine interface (HMI) that can safely and effectively transition control is therefore very important. This simulator study investigated how features of the HMI design, specifically feedback about the confidence (i.e., current capability) of the automation influenced transition of control. Participants were assigned to one of three conditions, which received varying amounts of visual and auditory feedback regarding the automation’s confidence. Findings suggest 3-stage auditory-visual feedback about the automation’s confidence may improve subsequent takeover performance compared to 3-stage visual and a control group without feedback. This research demonstrates the potential value of providing more insight into automated feature performance in conditional automation.

This study evaluated the change in usability, mental workload and information transfer rate associated with an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interface designed through ecological interface design (EID). The design and development process is detailed in Shea et al. (2021). Digital AAC interfaces are considered high-tech interventions for individuals who experience complex communication needs (e.g., from etiologies such as cerebral palsy) and enable users to select language options from a visual display. Interface usability, mental workload and information transfer rate collectively influence users’ communication. Ten AAC-naïve participants engaged in three semi–scripted conversations (verbal, AAC-mediated commercial interface, and EID interfaces) with an actor. Augmentative and alternative communication interfaces were accessed through a single switch pathway. Information transfer rate, error rate, heart rate variability and subjective workload performance measures were recorded for every trial. During AAC-mediated trials, interface interactions were also documented. The EID AAC interface presented improved communication in 5 out of 7 performance measures (p < .05). The EID AAC interface was associated with a significantly higher information transfer rate, lower error rate, less time elapsed between switch activations, less switch activation per word communicated and lower subjective workload. The application of EID to an AAC interface can lead to a significantly improved communication experience.