Methodology Comparison for Designing a Decision-making Support System

Abstract

Designing interfaces for effective decision-making supports for complex, dynamic systems is a challenging task. Besides the already challenging task of determining the visual form, the task of defining the content of these supports can be even more demanding. Especially for an unstable and complex work domain with multiple stakeholders and multiple interrelated systems, e.g., commercial flight operations. Various methodologies for designing such supports have been introduced in the last decades. In this paper two methodologies, Ecological Interface Design (EID) and Applied Cognitive Work Analysis (ACWA) are compared to determine what methodology is best suited for the design of an in-flight decision support system. The methodologies are compared on two aspects, (1) development of the knowledge-based model and (2) the means to translate this model into requirements for the actual representation. The functional abstraction network (FAN), as part of the ACWA, is the preferred knowledge-based modelling method for capturing a complex multi-system work domain, like commercial flight operations. Mainly due to the increased flexibility in modeling and ease of extending the model. The ACWA is also found to the preferable method to translate the functional model into representation requirements due to its structured step-wise and system engineering inspired approach.