CHAPTER 10: DESIGN TOOLS
This section of the human factors design guidelines handbook provides ATIS/CVO developers with an integrated set of eight tools that can be used to address a wide range of design issues associated with the development of ATIS/CVO. These tools were originally developed as part of the analytical phase of this project and are described in more detail in Hulse et al. (1997). The tools were generated from human factors principles based on empirical research. Importantly, there is still a relatively small database of studies that are directly relevant to ATIS design. Therefore, while some of the data sources used in the development of these design tools are directly relevant to ITS and ATIS/CVO, others, such as those dealing with perception and memory, were obtained from the basic psychological research literature, while others were generated from analyses of comparable systems.
The design tools provide the ATIS/CVO developer with a series of step-by-step aids for making specific decisions for numerous ATIS/CVO design parameters that are critical to driver performance and driver acceptance. Many deal with the use of auditory vs. visual presentations of ATIS information, some guide the designer through decisions regarding when to allow drivers to access certain types of information during a trip, others address the need to establish criteria for assessing the criticality of in-vehicle information. The basic format of each design tool is the same, and uses a decision-tree structure. Within a broad category of ATIS information (e.g., route planning, warning information, signing design), users work through 2-6 simple numbered questions regarding the nature, complexity, source, or criticality of the information to be presented to the user of an ATIS/CVO device. The question number appears in the upper left-hand corner outside of the box. Each "answer" leads to a different "branch" of the decision tree, which eventually provides design guidance, as well as a set of empirical references supporting the design principle being illustrated. In order to help ATIS/CVO designers use the tools and to answer the questions contained within them, examples (see right-hand pages) using relevant ATIS/CVO design issues are also provided. So that the user may better understand the relationship between the individual design tools and their corresponding examples, key questions within the design tools are numbered. The same questions within the example have been assigned the same numbers.
Route Planning and Coordination Sensory Allocation Design Tool
Route Following Sensory Allocation Design Tool
Warning and Condition Monitoring Sensory Allocation Design Tool
Signing Sensory Allocation Design Tool
Communication and Aid Request Sensory Allocation Design Tool