Usability considerations play a large role when designing complex interfaces. Complexity pretty much has to be reduced and errors have to be displayed in a way

Usability considerations play a large role when designing complex interfaces. Complexity pretty much has to be reduced and errors have to be displayed in a way that makes it possible to actually deal with them, especially in emergencies. Everything just lighting up may be nice for situations when there’s time to investigate but certainly not when time is critical. Yet wrong decisions become more likely when all the facts in all detail are not known so there is also a right balance to strike. There is an interesting talk which explores UI problems in airplanes (not quite Space Shuttles but also with a lot of buttons and, as far as the UI is concerned, with a lot of similar elements): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlEcCfEakro http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlEcCfEakro