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

Survey of Aviation Maintenance Technical Manuals, Phase 3 Report: Final Report and Recommendations

This report contains the results from the final phase of a three-phase research effort. Phase 1 of this research effort surveyed the procedures used by five aircraft manufacturers to develop maintenance documentation. Several potential human factors issues were identified in the processes used by these manufacturers to develop their maintenance manuals. The issues included the reactive rather than proactive use of user evaluations, the limited use of user input and procedure validation, no systematic attempts to track errors, 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 Title 14 Code of Federal 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 survey results supports the need for a higher level of user involvement during the document development process. In this report, a series of recommendations are outlined to address problem areas identified in Phases 1 and 2. It is recommended that (1) manufacturers and operators improve communication between technicians submitting change requests and technical writers to ensure prompt feedback of actions, (2) maintenance procedures be validated using standard human factors techniques, (3) the industry cooperate in the development of a system akin to MSG-3 for identifying maintenance procedures that should be systematically validated, and (4) manufacturers maintain databases with a history of user-reported errors, feedback to the user, and actions taken. By tracking the history of user error reports, manufacturers can then validate maintenance procedures that have the greatest potential impact on safety or economics. Finally, an example is described (using the MSG-3 process) of how these recommendations may be implemented

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

Human Factors Survey of Aviation Technical Manuals, Phase 1: Manual Development Procedures

This report contains the results from Phase 1 of a three-phase research effort. Phase 1 examines aviation industry procedures for developing maintenance technical data. Phase 2 will document user problems with maintenance technical data. Phase 3 will identify maintenance technical data development improvements by applying human factors principles. Five aircraft manufacturers were surveyed regarding company policy, communication, data tracking, user feedback, and error reduction efforts. The five industry participants represent both regional and large commercial transport manufacturers. Phase 1 survey results revealed three significant maintenance technical data issues: inconsistent development process guidelines, reactive rather than proactive response to user feedback, and inadequate assessment of errors involving usability as opposed to accuracy. Phase 1 results will later be compared to Phase 2 surveys of user problems with maintenance technical data to identify the impact of development procedures on the users perception of manual quality

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

Developing a Peer Mentorship Program in Human Factors Academia

Peer mentorship programs that pair more experienced students (i.e., mentors) with less experienced students (i.e., mentees) can have an effective, positive impact on university students’ personal, academic, and professional outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process and lessons learned in the creation of a peer mentorship program in a Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E) academic department. Through a combination of peer networking opportunities and skill development workshops, the mentorship program outlined in this paper aims to promote students’ academic and professional growth. Take-aways that can be utilized by other HF/E academia departments interested in starting or revamping their own peer mentorship programs are included

The Challenges of Evaluating the Usability of Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality (AR) is a new and emerging technology that could benefit from evaluating its usability to better the user’s experience with the device or application. This is often done through usability testing and heuristic evaluations. However, AR technology presents some challenges when completing these usability evaluations. Practitioners need to keep in mind the hardware limitations of AR devices that may not be present with other computerized technology, consistency of the users’ environment plays a larger role in the AR experience, recognize that a novelty effect may occur and affect subjective scores, and choose heuristic sets that will best evaluate AR applications. Practitioners need to be aware of these challenges and overcome them to accurately assess the usability of these products to gain insights about what should be changed to make the overall experience with the product better

Effect of sample storage conditions on the molecular assessment of MIC

Microbiological surveys play a fundamental role in diagnosing and monitoring microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) in oil and gas production systems. Currently, microbiological characterization is being carried out by the implementation of molecular microbiological methods (MMMs) such as the 16S rRNA gene diversity profiling. Molecular characterization of microorganisms provides information to assess the risk of MIC in the production facilities. Even though MMMs have been included in NACE standards, standardized protocols for collection, storage and preservation of oilfield samples have not been written. In this study, the effect of sample storage conditions on the microbial composition, community structure, alpha diversity and functional capability of oilfield samples was investigated. The effect of storage samples at room temperature or refrigeration on the molecular MIC assessment was statistically evaluated by comparison with samples preprocessed and preserved on-site straight upon collection. Sample storage resulted in changes in the relative abundance of the microbial populations, which had a significant impact on the alpha diversity and structure of the community. Likewise, the functional capability of the microbial community in oilfield samples was affected by storage conditions. Abundances of genes associated with corrosive pathways such as sulphate reduction, iron utilization and methanogenesis decreased under conditions evaluated. Results of this research provide evidence of the importance of sample handling for an accurate microbial characterization and subsequent assessment of the MIC risk in industrial systems. Thereby, on-site pre-processing of the samples and addition of nucleic acids preservation solutions is recommended for an optimal microbiological survey, and in cases where this is not feasible, refrigeration is preferred over room temperature storage conditions