Productivity approaches for MIL-STD-1553 military avionics

It is pointed out that the data structures and protocols of MIL-STD-1553 and its related dialects are straightforward. However, implementing 1553 requires extensive software production and usage; therefore, human-computer interface (HCI) needs are great. This situation creates an engineering environment prone to software errors, HCI confusion, incorrectly initialized data, and misinterpreted results. For example, the Data Word formats often tend to be cryptic, intricate, and system peculiar. To reduce the 1553-engineer´s workload with respect to exhaustive details, conversions, etc., several approaches to optimizing an HCI are presented. Design critiques, interactive prototypes, and user experiments are discussed. The prototype work was done on Apple Computer´s HyperCard, although there are many other products that could be used in its place