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> The plane cockpit won't show you by itself how to start the engine, that's in the manual/training. The plane cockpit is also _not_ intended to be used by fir

by pwg 13y ago

> The plane cockpit won't show you by itself how to start the engine, that's in the manual/training. The plane cockpit is also _not_ intended to be used by first-time users having to discover everything themselves as they go along. It is assumed the new user of the plane cockpit will be given detailed training on how to use the cockpit. UI's, and esp. web UI's, don't tend to come accompanied with _detailed training on how to use_ them. Which is why UI's _need_ discoverability and plane cockpits do not.

jamestnz 13y ago
>UI's _need_ discoverability and plane cockpits do not Interestingly enough, Boeing has a world-class ergonomics research/implementation department focusing on solving problems just like this within the cockpit. You see, it turns out that pilots were occasionally activating the switch for Undercarriage when they meant to activate the Flaps switch, because the switches were near each other on the console and they looked identical. This despite the switches being clearly labeled, and despite the intensive training that pilots undergo. Apparently this was enough of a problem that a habit developed amongst some pilots, of sticking a tiny paper cup over the Undercarrige switch shortly after each takeoff (the kind of tiny paper cup that they serve you your tiny cup of water in). The Boeing folks were tasked with this issue, researched likely causes and tested potential solutions, and (IIRC) came up with the idea of physically/visually distinguishing the switches, and furthermore to actually design each switch to be visually reminiscent of the feature it controls. (Hopefully I related this story correctly, it comes from a textbook-level source I read ages ago).
- deafbybeheading 13y ago
  General usability is important in pretty much all interfaces, but discoverability isn't. There's a big difference between designing an interface a user will be instantly familiar with, and one that's optimally suited to the task at hand.

by pwg 13y ago

jamestnz 13y ago

>UI's _need_ discoverability and plane cockpits do not Interestingly enough, Boeing has a world-class ergonomics research/implementation department focusing on solving problems just like this within the cockpit. You see, it turns out that pilots were occasionally activating the switch for Undercarriage when they meant to activate the Flaps switch, because the switches were near each other on the console and they looked identical. This despite the switches being clearly labeled, and despite the intensive training that pilots undergo. Apparently this was enough of a problem that a habit developed amongst some pilots, of sticking a tiny paper cup over the Undercarrige switch shortly after each takeoff (the kind of tiny paper cup that they serve you your tiny cup of water in). The Boeing folks were tasked with this issue, researched likely causes and tested potential solutions, and (IIRC) came up with the idea of physically/visually distinguishing the switches, and furthermore to actually design each switch to be visually reminiscent of the feature it controls. (Hopefully I related this story correctly, it comes from a textbook-level source I read ages ago).

deafbybeheading 13y ago
General usability is important in pretty much all interfaces, but discoverability isn't. There's a big difference between designing an interface a user will be instantly familiar with, and one that's optimally suited to the task at hand.