Traffic Incident Managers (TIMs) coordinate first responders and help resolve traffic-related incidents. Currently, some use over fifteen different software applications with unique functionalities across three monitors to manage incidents, leading to redundant data entry, unnecessary task switching, and delayed responses. 40 hours of TIMs’ screens were recorded during their normal work hours at the Iowa Department of Transportation (DoT). The resulting task analysis from these videos greatly influenced the design of a simplified, web-based, user interface (UI) prototype. The new UI offers a 42.9% reduction in the steps required to manage an incident by combining the functionality of the fifteen different applications used in the existing system into a single, structured UI. This research approach offers a UI model to other DoTs that can lead to faster and more effective incident management.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/stephen_b_gilbert/72/
This is a manuscript of a proceeding published as Helgerson, Andrina, Jamiahus Walton, Celia Loya, Christopher Kawell, Katherine Atwell, Quinn Monaghan, Lakshay Ahuja, Hesham Hassan, Stephen B. Gilbert, and Anuj Sharma. "Developing an Optimized UI for Traffic Incident Managers." Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 62, no. 1 (2018): 292-296. DOI: 10.1177%2F1541931218621067. Posted with permission.