Raytheon Anschütz is about to launch its new Ecdis NX that it says has been designed by users and not just by software engineers. According to product manager Björn Schröder, Raytheon explicitly considered the human element at all stages of the software and hardware design process to create user-friendly applications and intuitive functions.
It used feedback groups that included selected captains, nautical officers and trainers, as well as shipmanagers, seafarers, pilots, academic lecturers and maritime students. “The first step was to collect further in-depth feedback on our ecdis as well as ecdis expectations in general in order to identify the most urgent needs,” Mr Schröder said.
“One group was in favour of a more restrained approach, going back to basics with only the main tools available to carry out the task of navigation. This approach was believed to result from functional overload and distractions from the essential tasks of route monitoring and route planning in current ecdis systems on the market. Another group voted almost for the opposite - a full set of individual functions which should cover all the requirements of a seafarer.”
This feedback led to the creation of a wish list of functions and requirements that Raytheon Anschütz forwarded to the software engineers and product managers. Mr Schröder explained: “Navigators were interviewed about their routines during watch on the bridge, resulting in a mind-map of more than 300 tasks and use cases, from route planning to route monitoring and all the preparation and associated documentation.”
He added: “The tasks were given an importance rating and grouped according to frequency, such as whether they are performed constantly on watch, several times an hour, several times a day or every time before leaving or entering a port.”
The navigators went through the identified tasks and use cases on a Raytheon Anschütz bridge simulator. They were observed and asked for feedback after each session. These insights were combined with experiences and additional best practice research on other ecdis units to identify good approaches and poor functionality.
This led to a prototype of Ecdis NX that included a basic screen layout which enabled the demonstration of essential tasks and use cases such as route planning, Mr Schröder explained. “From the start the feedback valued the clearness of the new user interface and the operational concept,” he said. This included a maximum chart display and a quick access bar which gives access to all main functions with a single action. “The need for additional functionality was accommodated by the implementation of boxes that could be hidden. Any function which requires more than two clicks was explained to be supported by a workflow.” International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards were also used to develop the Ecdis NX for integrated navigation systems. These included:
All these were applied while designing the new ecdis. In December 2016, all the contributors were invited back for a final external review in multiple sessions. “The feedback again indicated an intuitiveness of use throughout the different tasks as well as supportive functions that actually provide assistance to the operator,” said Mr Schröder. Users described Ecdis NX as “intuitive,” “very ease to use,” “user-friendly,” “really nice features” and “a big step forward. Ecdis NX will be unveiled in May this year.
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