Human Factors & Going Green: Study Abroad on Sustainability and Transportation

The Northern European countries have been leaders in sustainability efforts, and support of alternative modes of transportation, focusing on implementation, design and strategies that make these efforts easier to adopt by the broader community. Human Factors (HF) is a discipline that studies human behavior and capabilities with the purpose of applying to the design of products, equipment and systems to maximize safety, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. Three senior faculty in the ERAU human factors department are sponsoring a summer study abroad merging sustainability and human factors. The focus of this study abroad program is on understanding Human Factors as it relates to sustainability as well as first-hand experience with alternative modes of transportation, including trains, trams, bikes, scooters, electric vehicles and others. Three classes – HF and Sustainability, HF and Transportation, and User Experience (UX) will be integrative, each dovetailing into the others. Supplementing the classroom experience will be professional tours of organizations that are known for design and implementation of sustainability (government officials in each country who design and implement sustainability efforts, Volvo etc.) as well as visits to cultural locations that have provided the foundation for the development of these efforts in each country. Locations that will be visited include Amsterdam, Netherlands; Hamburg, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; Gothensburg, Sweden; and Oslo, Norway

Final Report: A Comparison of Three Evaluative Techniques for Validating Maintenance Documentation

Surveys and interviews reveal that general aviation manufacturers rely on user[s] to identify problems in maintenance documentation with corrections typically initiated in response to users-reported problems found in the manual;. This investigation compares techniques that manufacturers can use to improve the quality of the maintenance documentation developed by technical writing groups. The techniques, User Performance and Cognitive Walkthrough, were used to identify problems in aircraft maintenance documentation

Numeric Forced Rank: A Lightweight Method for Comparison and Decision-making

Comparing products, features, brands, or ideas relative to one another is a common goal in user experience (UX) and market research. While Likert-type scales and ordinal stack ranks are often employed as prioritization methods, they are subject to several psychometric shortcomings. We introduce the numeric forced rank, a lightweight approach that overcomes some of the limitations of standard methods and allows researchers to collect absolute ratings, relative preferences, and subjective comments using a single scale. The approach is optimal for UX and market research, but is also easily employed as a structured decision-making exercise outside of consumer research. We describe how the numeric forced rank was used to determine the name of a new Google Cloud Platform (GCP) feature, present the findings, and make recommendations for future research

Computer Program, System, and Method for Observation and Communication for Mobile Settings, Mobile Applications, and Wearable Mobile Devices

A system including at least first and second wearable mobile devices and optionally one or more smartphones or other computing devices for allowing a wearable mobile device wearer, an on-site observer, and a remote observer to research and test usability of products in mobile settings, mobile applications, mobile devices, and wearable mobile devices, desktop usability settings, and other settings and devices. The devices nm a software application for generating first-person video and third-person video, transmitting the video to the other devices, marking the videos with time stamps, and allowing the remote observer to send messages and other information to the other devices

Efficacy of Virtual Models in a Production Systems Course

Wichita State University has developed an integrated set of virtual reality models of an aircraft assembly line. These models are intended to provide students an ‘artifact’ of industrial and manufacturing engineering by providing a realistic environment for initial learning and application. By utilizing a virtual model of the line, students are able to view the process and interrogate the process details, make changes and observe the effects, and gain a better understanding of the concepts and their interrelationships. This paper presents the method used to assess if virtual models (computer models of a real factory) lead to: improved perception of relevance, increased time on task, and increased student satisfaction. A production systems class was used to determine student impacts. This paper presents preliminary results

Assessing Video Game Satisfaction of Gamers with Disabilities

According to a survey conducted by the CDC, it is estimated that 26% of Americans are living with a disability. Of those with disabilities in the United States, it is estimated that 33 million play video games. People with disabilities face many barriers in gaming, which is likely to impact game satisfaction. Measuring game satisfaction among this population can be problematic if the scale is not adapted to their needs, which can vary significantly based on the disability. To understand how best to assess game satisfaction among these populations, we discuss the issues people with cognitive, sensory, and/or motor disabilities may face when completing assessment scales and then use the validated Game User Experience Satisfaction Scale (GUESS) as a framework for understanding the game design issues that may impact satisfaction

Gaming and Buying on the Go: Purchasing Behavior in Mobile Gaming

Most mobile games are free-to-play (F2P) which means that the game is free to acquire and that the player has access to the main features of the game. F2P games typically generate revenue with microtransactions, a purchase within a game to get features, virtual goods, functions, or other in-game content (Lin & Sun, 2011). Mobile games may use dark patterns, or design mechanics that can cause negative experiences to encourage players to spend money in games (Zagal, Bjork, & Lewis, 2013). This research seeks to gain a greater understanding of purchasing behavior of mobile video game players. Participants played a mobile game over a two-week period and completed daily diaries about their experience as well as purchases within the game. Qualitative feedback from participants indicated that initial impressions of the game were positive. Participants that purchased within the game they played tended to buy characters or in-game items that made characters stronger. All participants mentioned the games they played having “grinding” or completing repetitive tasks to extend the game’s duration. Outcomes of this research contribute to a greater understanding of the user experience of mobile games and how game design mechanics affect player experience and purchasing behavior. References: Lin, H., & Sun, C. T. (2011). Cash trade in free-to-play online games. Games and Culture, 6(3), 270-287. Zagal, J. P., Björk, S., & Lewis, C. (2013). Dark patterns in the design of games. In Foundations of Digital Games 2013

Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals, Phase 2 Report: User Evaluation of Maintenance Documents

This report contains the results from Phase 2 of a 3-phase research effort. Phase 1 (Human Factors Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals Phase 1 Report: Manual Development Procedures) of this research effort surveyed the procedures used by five manufacturers to develop maintenance documentation. Several potential human factors issues were identified in the development processes employed by these manufacturers. They included the reactive rather than proactive use of user evaluations, the limited use of user input and procedure validation, no systematic attempts to track error, and the lack of standards for measuring document quality. In Phase 2, a written survey was used to solicit information about user perception of errors in current manuals, manual usage rates, and general manual quality. On-site interviews of technicians were also conducted to gather feedback about the types of problems encountered with manuals, the associated impact, and suggestions for improving manuals. Feedback was obtained from technicians responsible for maintenance on a wide variety of Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 25 aircraft. Survey results revealed that, although user evaluations of the accuracy and quality of technical manuals are generally good, they rate manuals as having poor usability. Comparing the results of Phase 1 to the Phase 2 results supports the need for a higher level of user involvement during the document development process

Using Sunflower Plots and Classification Trees to Study Typeface Legibility

This article describes the application of sunflower plots and classification trees to the study of onscreen typeface legibility. The two methods are useful for describing high-dimensional data in an intuitive manner, which is crucial for interacting with both the typographers who design the typefaces and the practitioners who must make decisions about which typeface to use for specific applications. Furthermore, classification trees help us make specific recommendations for how much of a character attribute is “enough” to make it legible. We present examples of sunflower plots and classification trees using data from a recent typeface legibility experiment, and we present R code for replicating our analyses. Some familiarity with classification trees and logistic regression will be helpful to the reader