Big graphics and little screens: designing graphical displays for maintenance tasks

Traditional maintenance information includes large graphical drawings that are difficult to portray on the small screens of computer-based maintenance information systems. The research described investigates the design of graphical displays using display abstraction and aggregation as design parameters. A display´s aggregation level reflects the field of view of a display, such as component, assembly, or system-level diagrams. A display´s abstraction level reflects the representation contained in a diagram, such as a component´s form, function, or purpose in an assembly. The results from two experiments with experienced maintenance personnel are presented. Usage of the display abstraction levels was found to vary with both the nature of the maintenance task and the experience level of the maintenance personnel. Usage of the display aggregation levels was found to change as task performance proceeded. The results support the application of these concepts to computer-based maintenance information systems