Described here is a research project that uses human factors and computer systems knowledge to explore and help guide the design and creation of an effective Human-Computer Interface (HCI) for spacecraft crew procedures. By having a computer system behind the user interface, it is possible to have increased procedure automation, related system monitoring, and personalized annotation and help facilities. The research project includes the development of computer-based procedure system HCI prototypes and a testbed for experiments that measure the effectiveness of HCI alternatives in order to make design recommendations. The testbed will include a system for procedure authoring, editing, training, and execution. Progress on developing HCI prototypes for a middeck experiment performed on Space Shuttle Mission STS-34 and for upcoming medical experiments are discussed. The status of the experimental testbed is also discussed

Manahan, Meera

Oneal, Michael

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

N91 -20719
SPACECRAFT CREW PROCEDURES
FROM PAPER TO COMPUTERS
Michael O'Neal and Meera Manahan
Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company
2400 NASA Road 1, MS C95
Houston, TX 77058
ABSTRACT
Many of the tasks the crew of a spacecraft must
perform during a mission are recorded as crew
procedures - step-by-step instructions
describing how to perform the tasks.
Currently, these crew procedures are created
and carried into space in large paper notebooks.
In the future, however, these procedures will be
authored, edited, and performed using
computer-based systems. This paper describes a
research project that uses human factors and
computer systems knowledge to explore and
help guide the design and creation of an
effective Human-Computer Interface (HCI) for
spacecraft crew procedures; this HCI is an
important component in an effective computer-
based procedure system. By having a computer
system behind the user interface it is possible to
have increased procedure automation, related
system monitoring, and personalized annotation
and help facilities. The research project
includes the development of computer-based
procedure system HCI prototypes and a testbed
for experiments that measure the effectiveness
of HCI alternatives in order to make design
recommendations; the testbed will include a
system for procedure authoring, editing,
training, and execution. Progress on
developing HCI prototypes for a middeck
experiment performed on Space Shuttle mission
STS-34 and for upcoming medical experiments
are discussed. The status of the experimental
testbed is also discussed. Future implications
and issues of computer-based procedure systems
will be discussed including the effect on users'
cognitive workload, system versus user task
allocation, and system adaptability to changing
procedural environments.
INTRODUCTION
Large volumes of paper are launched with each
Space Shuttle mission that contain step-by-step
instructions for various activities that are to be
performed by the crew during the mission.
These instructions include normal operational
procedures and malfunction or contingency
procedures and are collectively known as the
Flight Data File, or FDF. An example of
nominal procedures would be those used in the
deployment of a satellite from the Space Shuttle;
a malfunction procedure would describe actions
to be taken if a specific problem developed
during the deployment.
A new Flight Data File and associated system is
being created for Space Station Freedom. The
system will be called the Space Station Flight
Data File, or SFDF. NASA has determined that
the SFDF will be computer-based rather than
paper-based for reasons including the
following:
The long duration of the Space Station
program precludes one-time launch of all
crew procedures.
Repeated launch of crew procedure
segments is not cost effective, since each
pound of launch weight costs
approximately $20,000.
Large amounts of manual effort are
required to create, edit, and maintain
paper-based crew procedures.
Changes made after procedure printing
require annotation of each individual copy,
a time-consuming and error-prone
process.
The time involved in implementing and
delivering approved Space Station crew
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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19910011406 2020-03-19T19:03:56+00:00Z
procedure changes or updates in a paper-
based system would be significant,
including scheduling of resources on a
Space Shuttle flight.
The main components of interest in a Human-
Computer Interface (HCI) include the
information available on the screen at any given
time, how to change the quantity or content of
the information present on the screen, how the
information is organized, and how the user
interacts with the displayed information.
Designing an effective HCI is an important step
in developing a viable computer-based crew
procedure system for reasons including the
following:
An effective HCI will allow faster, more
accurate crew interaction with spacecraft
crew procedure Systems.
The HCI will facilitate the crew's
monitoring of other spacecraft computer
systems while performing crew
procedures_ ....
The HCI will allow the crew to easily
verify procedure steps performed by the
computer system as procedure automation
increases.
A context- and user-sensitive help and
annotation system within the HCI will
allow the user to rapidly and efficiently
access this type of information while
performing the procedures.
The effective HCI will provide rapid, easy
access to required supporting information
such as procedure reference items.
The development of a standard HCI across
all crew procedures will lessen the amount
of cross-training required for different
types of procedures and will thus lessen the
amount of errors made during procedures.
The research project described in this paper
uses human factors and computer systems
knowledge to explore and help guide the design
and creation of an effective HCI for computer-
based spacecraft crew procedure systems. The
research project includes the development of
computer-based procedure system HCI
prototypes and a testbed including a system for
procedure authoring, editing, training, and
execution to be used for experiments that
measure the effectiveness of HCI alternatives in
order to make design recommendations.
CREW PROCEDURE
TASKS AND USERS
Many different tasks are required to create and
maintain a spacecraft crew procedure system.
Procedures must be created by personnel
familiar with the tasks in question and by
procedure authors and editors. The crew
responsible for performing the procedures must
be trained in how to use the procedures.
Training crew personnel to be familiar with
off-nominal procedures is also required so the
procedures can be used quickly and effectively
needed during a missfon_ The actual
performance of the procedure during the
mission is an important iask, includifig
assistance and adaptation to changing conditions
if necessary, if a procedure iS_se-d-/'_peatediy
during one or more missions, changes to the
procedure may be required tol correct
inefficiencies Orerrors; _d current versions of
such procedures must be maintained and
distributed to all appropriate personnel.
Personnel groups responsible for specific crew
procedure tasks represent different user groups
of the crew procedure system: Procedure
authors create the procedures, assuring that they
correctly describe the work to be performed
and that they conform to a standard procedural
format (e.g. FDF or SFDF); they are also
involved in scheduling procedures during a
mission to create mission plans and crew
member short-term plans. Authors may also
work with individual payload specialists or
experimema[ scientists. Trainers review the
procedures With the crew members :wh_ will
p_erform the tasks; comments or problems with
procedure details or clarity are reported to
procedure authors or editors for correction.
Crew members are involved with actual
procedure performance, training, and
correction or editing if required. Mission
control personnel assist in scheduling
procedures, working with the crew during the
mission, and in monitoring the mission plan and
short-term plans. Experimental investigators
and payload specialists are involved in creation
!
596
and execution of those procedures relevant to
their experiment or payload. Procedure editors
are also responsible for updating and
distributing required procedure changes found
during training or execution.
An effective computer-based procedure system,
and an effective HCI to this system, must take
into account the full range of tasks and users of
the procedure system. In particular, a common
interface that can be created by authors and used
by trainers, crew members, and mission control
personnel will contribute to faster, more
accurate interaction with crew procedures.
PROJECT GOALS
The ultimate goal of the current research is to
create HCI design guidelines that can be used for
spacecraft crew procedures and other computer
systems that display procedural information to
procedure users. These guidelines should lead
to faster, more accurate user interaction with
procedural information on a computer.
The first step in the project is a review of
available literature on computer presentation of
procedural material and the evaluation of the
current paper-based FDF procedure system for
Space Shuttle. With this information, key issues
are identified and their role in the research
outlined. Using background information and
human factors and computer system knowledge,
alternative interfaces are created via prototypes.
These prototypes are then evaluated by the
various users of crew procedures listed above.
Experiments are then performed using different
presentation and interaction techniques; these
experiments provide specific data on the
relative speed and accuracy of procedure tasks
using different interfaces. Comments from
prototypes and results and conclusions from
interface experiments are then compiled into
human-computer interface guidelines for
presentation and interaction with spacecraft
crew procedures.
CREW PROCEDURE ISSUES
There are both advantages and disadvantages of
moving from a paper-based to a computer-
based crew procedure system. The current
research project addresses these issues as they
relate to the human-computer interface of the
system. Advantages of using a computer will be
utilized while disadvantages will be addressed
and minimized.
Computer Advantages
Having a computer system behind the interface
to a crew procedure system offers many
advantages. By monitoring related onboard
systems, the computer system can automatically
perform many procedure steps that require
simple status verification (e.g. "Check that
switch F6 is ON"), thus reducing the time
required to perform the procedure. A training
mode is now feasible so that the crew member
can practice using the procedure in exactly its
f'mal form with the exception that system actions
are not actually performed; training and
execution modes for the same procedure will
increase the effectiveness of training. Personal
annotation files can be attached to each
procedure, thus allowing each crew member to
create and refer to individual notes during both
training and execution of procedures; these
notes will be available whenever and wherever
the crew member uses the procedure. The
computer-based procedure system can
coordinate with other spacecraft computer
systems, providing easier transitions to and
from other systems. The computer-based help
system can adapt to both the user of the
procedure and the context in which the
procedure is being performed. The amount of
detail (i.e. the prompt level) of the procedure
can change for different users and situations.
Finally, expert systems can be integrated into
the procedure system, thus providing a more
intelligent interface to crew procedures.
Computer Disadvantages
When procedural information is presented on a
computer screen, the context of the information
presented typically seems more limited than
with a page of paper, although the actual amount
of information present on a computer screen
may or may not be smaller. There is less
context information on where the current
597
screen of information fits into the overall
system; in a book, the location of the page in the
overall book is an example of available context
data. This issue will be addressed in the HCI to
the computer-based system by generating and
evaluating ideas to provide additional context
information (e.g. screen number, screen
position in overall outline, etc.).
In a complex computer system such as the
onboard Data Management System (DMS) for
Space Station Freedom, many levels of
subsystems are present. The inability to rapidly
navigate among the systems and subsystems can
be a serious detriment to overall performance.
This issue will be addressed in the HCI to the
computer-based system by generating and
evaluating ideas to provide information on
current position within the system hierarchy
and to provide tools to rapidly and directly
move between subsystems either during or after
a computer task.
RESEARCH F-O-U-NDA T I O N S : ..-_
Initially, a review of NASA literature on
computer presentation of procedural
information was completed. Information on
work performed at MITRE for the Procedure
Formatting System (PFS) project was reviewed
and prototypes were viewed (Johns 1987 and
1988, Kelly 1988). Previous research in the
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
(HCIL) of the NASA Johnson Space Center was
reviewed, and results from experiments on
procedure context and format (Desaulniers,
Gillan, and Rudisill 1988 and 1989) will be
incorporated into the current research project.
Coordination is in progress with the Mission
Operations Directorate (MOD) at the NASA
Johnson Space Center, as described below.
PROJECT STATUS
Current Project Prototypes
Prototype development is in progress for two
Space Shuttle experiments. The procedures
were selected for prototyping due to their
similarity to typical research that will be
conducted on Space Station Freedom since
Space Station procedures are not yet available.
The two prototypes will also use different HCI
approaches.
The first system is a computer-based prototype
of a middeck experiment, Polymer Morphology
(PM), that was performed on Space Shuttle
mission STS-34. The PM experiment consists
of four procedures (setup, sequence initiation,
sample check, and stowage) and six procedure
reference items (interconnection overview,
keystroke definitions, window definitions,
notebook, sequences, and worksheets). The
prototype is created within the framework of
the Space Station basic screen layout being
developed by the NASA/McDonnell Douglas
HCI development team. Included in this
prototype is an initial version of an Interface
Navigation Tool developed at the HCIL that is
currently being reviewed by the HCI team.
Initial versions of the six reference items have
been created. Development of the interface for
the four procedures is in progress. -
_ _-__ _....
The second system is a computer-based
prototype of an expert system for medical
experiments to be performed on two upcoming
Space Shuttle missions. The system, Principal
Investigator in a Box, or [PI], will include an
expert system. The motivation for this medical
expert system is to provide the capability to
perform medical experiments with minimum
ground control or support. A separate HCIL
research project is in progress to study the
interface as it relates to the expert system, and
this research will be coordinated with the
current research which examines the same
interface from the viewpoint of presentation of
the procedures. The [PI] interface is being
modified for the Space Station basic screen
layout and will be evaluated as an alternative
HCI design for crew procedures,
Current Project Experiments
As discussed above, the current procedures
research will include the performance of
experiments to gather specific data to support
HCI guidelines for computer presentation of
procedures. These experiments will begin as
specific questions arise from the creation and
analysis of HCI prototypes. The experiments
598
will use subjective comments and speed and
accuracy measurements to provide data for
comparing different HCI alternatives. The
experimental testbed will include a system for
procedure authoring, editing, training, and
execution that will allow HCI altematives to be
easily generated and compared.
COOPERATIVE WORK
In addition to continuing work with the MITRE
PFS system, two cooperative projects with the
NASA Johnson Space Center Mission
Operations Directorate (MOD) are in the
planning stages. Research will be performed in
the HCIL to assist MOD in creating procedure
standards for SFDF. Studies and experiments
will be performed to provide human factors
input into the standards created. Also,
procedure authoring and execution software
being developed within MOD will be evaluated
from a human factors and HCI perspective.
FUTURE RESEARCH ISSUES
The current research project will continue to
explore human factors issues relevant to the
interface to electronic spacecraft crew
procedures. The effect on the cognitive
workload of the procedure users will be
examined, with the goal of reducing this
workload through automation. The allocation
of procedure tasks between the user and the
computer system will also be examined.
Creating an interface that is adaptable to
changing environments will be explored,
including the method and user aids available
during interruption and resumption of
procedures. Research will also be performed
on the use of the same computer interface
during both training and execution of
procedures.
is an important component, and research into
improving the interface will provide faster and
more accurate human interaction with the
computer. The current research project uses
prototypes and experiments to explore and help
guide the design and creation of the human-
computer interface for spacecraft crew
procedure systems such as the Space Station.
Prototype and experiment development is
currently in progress. Issues relevant to human
interaction with procedures will continue to be
researched within the HCIL and in cooperation
with other crew procedures researchers and
developers.
LIST OF ACRONYMS
DMS
FDF
HCI
HCIL
MOD
PFS
PM
SFDF
Data Management System onboard
Space Station Freedom
Flight Data File (Space Shuttle)
Human-Computer Interface
Human-Computer Interaction
Laboratory
Mission Operations Directorate
Procedure Formatting System from
MITRE
Polymer Morphology experiment of
STS-34
Space Station Flight Data File
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was funded by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration,
Office of Aeronautics and Exploration
Technology, through contract NAS9-17900
to Lockheed Engineering and Sciences
Company. The research was performed at
the Johnson Space Center Human-Computer
Interaction Laboratory.
REFERENCES
CONCLUSION
Spacecraft crew procedures are increasingly
being computerized, as in NASA's Space Station
Freedom program. The human interface to
these computer-based crew procedure systems
Desaulniers, D. R., Gillan, D. J., and
Rudisill, M. (1988). The Effects of
Format in Computer-Based
Procedure Displays. NASA
Technical Report. Houston, Texas:
599
Lockheed Engineering and Sciences
Company.
Desaulniers, D. R., Gillan, D. J., and
Rudisill, M. (1989). The Effects of
Context in Computer-Based
Procedure Displays. NASA
Technical Report. Houston, Texas:
Lockheed Engineering and Sciences
Company.
Desaulniers, D. R., Gillan, D. J., and
Rudisi11, M. (1988). A Comparison
of Flowchart and Prose Formats for
the Presentation of Computer-Based
Procedural Information. NASA
Technical Report. Houston, Texas:
Lockheed Engineering and Sciences
Company. __
Johns, G. J. (1987). Flight Data File for the
Space Station, Volume I, Baseline
Definition, and Volume H, Baseline
Functional Requirements. (MITRE
Report No. MTR10019):_ Houston,
Texas: The MITRE Corporation.
Johns, G. J. (1988). Dynamic _Display of
Crew Procedures for Space Station,
Volume I, Baseline Definition, and
Volume H, Functional Requirements.
(MITRE Report No. MTR-88D033).
McLean, Virginia: The MITRE
Corporation.
Kelly, C. M. (1988). Conceptual Definition
fora Flight Data File Automated
Control and Tracking _System.
(MITRE Report No. MTR-
88D0017). McLean, Virginia: The
MITRE Corporation.
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Spacecraft crew procedures from paper to computers

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