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Paper: Proper Use of Visualisation Principles for the GUI of SKA Control Rooms
Volume: 522, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XXVII
Page: 169
Authors: Alberti, V.; Brajnik, G.
Abstract: Designing the graphical user interface (UI) for operators in the control room of SKA telescopes is a challenging task. The amount of information to be shown and the possible stressful situations that operators might need to handle in case of major problems makes the design of the UI difficult. The UI has to be developed with goal of driving the attention of the operator to important information and of avoiding distractions, errors or delays due to the difficulties in interpreting the UI. Not only the displayed content but also the interactions between the textures and colours, symbols and areas with different size, and the combination of these factors must be taken into account when designing the UI for a specific task. Many studies have been conducted regarding the human perception mechanisms and visual thinking processes. Based on the results of those studies and on guidelines for helping the graphical designers in developing effective UIs, we present a summary of good practices to be followed when implementing the UI for the control rooms of SKA. They cover topics like mechanisms to capture the attention of the users when a change of state of the system occurs, methods suitable for interactive visualisation and how to utilise dashboards. Particular attention has to be paid to the choice of colours. Finally, to avoid user overload, appropriate drill down mechanisms to display information only when needed are explored.
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