Mediation of Mental Models in Process Control Through a Hypermedia Man-Machine Interface

A Training Approach to the Acquisition and Retention of Fault-Finding Skills: Making Instructions "Visible" on the Interface

“…It should be noted, however, that an emphasis on high-level variables (e.g., energy and mass flows) would be more appropriate for an ecological approach that uses the constraints of the system as a basis of design (Vicente & Rasmussen, 1990). Other studies that rely on causal links between plant variables (Heuer et al, 1995) may find the patterns of change and recovery useful in their approach.…”

“…In this approach, task-based relations of system parameters are given priority to model-based and control-based relations (see also Table 1). However, in most cases, the latter variable relations can be accommodated in the display by locating them in close spatial proximity or by portraying them in causal arrow links (Heuer et al, 1995;Samurcay & Hoc, 1996).…”

“…The strength of relations is reflected in the thickness of the arrows whereas the type of relation (i.e., changes in similar or opposite directions) is portrayed as a plus or minus sign; indirect or mediated relations are shown as dotted lines (Figure 4). It is worth noting that Heuer et al (1995) used a similar model to design a new interface of a distillation plant based on causal link information. In this study, this model was not portrayed on the new interface, but it was used as an aid in fault-diagnosis at all times.…”

“…Finally, the graphical format of telltale signs is very important in making diagnostic information "visible" to operators. Several useful formats have been proposed in the literature of human-computer interaction, including multiple trace recorders (Patrick & Haines, 1988), polar displays (Woods, Wise, & Hanes, 1981), configural displays (Bennett, Toms, & Woods, 1993), causal arrows (Heuer et al, 1995), symbols of direction of change (Elzer, Beuthel, Boussoffara, Zinser, & Tissen, 1995;Guerlain, Jamieson, Billemer, & Blair, 2002), linking bars between variables (Pawlak & Vicente, 1996), and "side-by-side" instruments (Kontogiannis & Linou, 2001). This study focuses mainly on the different types of telltale signs and proposes to use diagnostic heuristics as a basis for specifying the content of diagnostic information.…”

“…Samurcay and Hoc (1996), for instance, developed an interface that portrayed the causal links of variables involved in the control and diagnosis of furnace failures. Heuer, Ali, and Hollender (1995) designed a multilevel information display presenting operators of a distillation column with topographical, causal-link, and mass-energy flow information. On the other hand, numerous studies, subscribed to the ecological approach, showed that fault-diagnosis can benefit from making system constraints visible on the interface (Ham & Yoon, 2001;Liu, Nakata, & Furuta, 2002;Pawlak & Vicente, 1996;Vicente, Christoffersen, & Pereklita, 1995).…”