Engaging Safety-Critical Operators in Visualization Design

Air traffic control is an example of safety-critical domain where operators’ decision making is crucial for enhancing safety. Visualization tools can help air traffic controllers not just to maintain safety of flights but to manage traffic complexity. Our recent research in visual analytics has demonstrated clear benefits for identifying mapping patterns of ATCos and also for supporting them in critical decision-making tasks, i.e., conflict detection and resolution and complexity management. Yet the ultimate effectiveness of our research hinges on the collaborative engagement of the critical workforce—air traffic controllers—in their co-design and evaluation. In this position paper, we share insights gathered from design and evaluation studies conducted with more than 30 fully-licensed and operational air traffic controllers to propose a principled approach for meaningful application domain expert participation in work pattern analysis and visualization design for air traffic control. We present the unique challenges these operators face, and outline methods and outcomes of successful co-design processes resulting in a forward-looking research agenda.