24Fig. 5Advanced Human Factors design - J AS cockpitThe cockpit ot JAS 39 is designed to provide thepilot with maximum support during flying, navigation<strong>and</strong> tactical applications. Displayed in<strong>for</strong>mationis either presented automatically or canbe selected by the pilot.The display in the centre is an electronic mapproviding navigational in<strong>for</strong>mation. Human Factorsspecified the quantity of in<strong>for</strong>mation presented<strong>and</strong> designed <strong>and</strong> tested symbols. Simplicityis the key. All in<strong>for</strong>mation must be easilyunderstood under the most difficult conditionspossiblemay be retained, while the redesign ef<strong>for</strong>tfocuses on solutions to problems that usershave identified as being the most serious.St<strong>and</strong>ardisationCurrent st<strong>and</strong>ardisation activities in thearea of Human Factors are directed mainlytowards the user interface <strong>and</strong> software.A number of relatively similar de-factost<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>for</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation display (CUA,OPEN LOOK, Motif, Apple) are used bymanufacturers when they design their applications.This illustrates the difficulties inestablishing a uni<strong>for</strong>m st<strong>and</strong>ard duringrapid technical developments. A user interfacest<strong>and</strong>ard must be verified in a widerange of applications be<strong>for</strong>e it can begenerally accepted. During this time, furtherdevelopments occur <strong>and</strong> the conditionschange. No quick breakthrough resultingin one particular st<strong>and</strong>ard dominatingover the others is there<strong>for</strong>e expected.In the telecommunications area, where thelarge network operators have a significantinfluence in the st<strong>and</strong>ardisation bodies,st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>for</strong> completely new services arebeing worked out. The European TelecommunicationsSt<strong>and</strong>ards Institute (ETSI)has twelve committees, one of which dealswith Human Factors. Issues dealt with concernusability in telecommunications, suchas Universal Personal Telephony (UPT)<strong>and</strong> video telephony. The procedures,symbols <strong>and</strong> icons used in these applicationsare studied. Other issues concerntelecommunications <strong>for</strong> people with specialneeds, including the h<strong>and</strong>icapped; theobjective being to ascertain that publictelephone services are available to thesegroups. ETSI also produces manuals,h<strong>and</strong>books <strong>and</strong> check-lists <strong>for</strong> the designof services <strong>and</strong> products.Current Human FactorsprojectsTelecom servicesThe total number of telecom services is exp<strong>and</strong>ingrapidly <strong>and</strong> each user is going tobe confronted with many more servicesthan today. Services are going to be broadin nature <strong>and</strong> not, as today, mainly oftelephony character. Thus, the dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong>simple, intuitive <strong>and</strong> reliable use of serviceswill become more <strong>and</strong> more important.There must be a significant degree ofuni<strong>for</strong>mity between closely related services,<strong>and</strong> a clear <strong>and</strong> consistent differencebetween different groups of services sothat users underst<strong>and</strong> the distinctions. Toachieve this is no easy task, especiallywhen cultural variations in the interpretationof concepts <strong>and</strong> use of telephony mustbe considered.Human Factors is intensively engaged indesigning new services <strong>for</strong> public, private<strong>and</strong> mobile telephony. Examplesof currentactivities are- Development of system-independentmethods of specifying <strong>and</strong> describingservices based on user perspectives ofthe services. (The design of services incurrent networks is determined by theway in which the telecom system is constructed)- Studies of the use of current serviceswith detailed analysis of motivation <strong>and</strong>justification <strong>for</strong> each service- Evaluation of prototypes of new serviceswithin different user groups- Test <strong>and</strong> evaluation of symbols <strong>and</strong>icons <strong>for</strong> services.Presentation of in<strong>for</strong>mation inadvanced vehiclesOne of the most stressful workplacesimaginable is the cockpit of a modernfighter aircraft. Pilots must interpret situationsquickly <strong>and</strong> accurately <strong>and</strong> act accordingly.They are often exposed to acombination of mental <strong>and</strong> physical stress,typically g-<strong>for</strong>ces. To support the decisionmakingprocess, the pilot receives in<strong>for</strong>mation- from several different sources -which is continuously adapted <strong>and</strong> combinedin a suitable way be<strong>for</strong>e being presented.The visual display unit is the mostefficient <strong>and</strong> suitable means of presentingthis in<strong>for</strong>mation.Ericsson has designed the in<strong>for</strong>mationsystem <strong>for</strong> the Swedish Air<strong>for</strong>ce's newfighter, JAS 39 Gripen (Fig. 5). The cockpitof JAS has been the subject of HumanFactors ef<strong>for</strong>t in four major areas: presentationof in<strong>for</strong>mation, design of controls,workstation design <strong>and</strong> environmental adaptation.The pilots' physical characteristics,capabilities <strong>and</strong> limitations have beenanalysed in detail, as have the type <strong>and</strong>amount of in<strong>for</strong>mation they need. Testswith mock-ups <strong>and</strong> various <strong>for</strong>ms of prototypeshave been used to increase knowledge.The establishment of the final designof the cockpit, with in<strong>for</strong>mationsystems <strong>and</strong> controls, has been based onERICSSON REVIEW No. 1-2, 1992
25Fig. 6Cellular network configurationsIt is essential to see in<strong>for</strong>mation about all or partof a cellular network in order to manage it efficiently.TMOS User Interface Design St<strong>and</strong>ards(TUIDS) have been applied to interface design<strong>and</strong> have specified rules <strong>for</strong> the selection <strong>and</strong>use of colour, <strong>for</strong> exampleresults from simulation <strong>and</strong> full-scale trials.Only then has the system been installed inits correct environment.Telecommunications Management<strong>and</strong> Operation Support-TMOSTMOS is a family of systems whose differentproducts together offer operative support<strong>for</strong> the whole telephone network <strong>and</strong>its services. Based on TMOS, Ericssonhas developed a series of products:NMAS Network Management System <strong>for</strong>the switched telecommunicationsnetworkSMAS Service Management System <strong>for</strong>intelligent networksCMAS Cellular Management System <strong>for</strong>mobile telephone networksFMAS Facility Management System <strong>for</strong>transport networksBMAS Business Management System <strong>for</strong>Centrex <strong>and</strong> Virtual Private NetworksIn a family of systems, characteristics <strong>and</strong>configurations should be based on a uni<strong>for</strong>mbasic structure, partly to illustrate therelationship but mainly so that users recognisesituations <strong>and</strong> procedures. This isof particular importance <strong>for</strong> the user interface.TMOS is based on workstation technologythat provides products with powerfulgraphical user interfaces, Fig. 6. Inorder to create a homogeneous interface,Ericsson has developed a st<strong>and</strong>ard <strong>for</strong>TMOS "look <strong>and</strong> feel" - TMOS User Inter-ERICSSON REVIEW No. 1-2, 1992
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