Honing in: A user interface concept for managing dynamicinformation flows

Sammanfattning: As more intermittent, decentralized production and consumption sources are connected to power grids, new demands are put on operators in control rooms managing the grids. Managing the grids from a tele-operation perspective, operators are dependent on communication channels connecting them with the grids. As the information flows from communication channels are reflected by changes in the grid, they are getting more challenging to manage and be situation aware of. In this thesis, a user interface concept for communicating dynamic information flows in a situation awareness supportive way is developed and evaluated in terms of providing convenient pathways to information and supporting understanding of a situation. The concept was developed through an outsetting field study and a design process guided by design rationale. Findings indicate that the concept supports situation awareness in providing convenient pathways to information, and for supporting understanding of a situation both slight improvement and slight decline in situation awareness is seen. In conclusion, the concept provides a promising alternative in giving short cuts to information and in aggregation, but much less decisively, it also integrates information in a way that supports understanding of a situation.