The role of cue utilisation and adaptive interface design in the management of skilled performance in operations control

The operational control of complex systems such as power control and air traffic control is increasingly relegated to advanced technology devices with the expectation that operations controllers will maintain oversight of system and intervene where appropriate. Moreover, the centralisation of operations control has resulted in the oversight of systems remotely, typically through a human-machine interface. This article discusses the principles that underlie the design of interfaces for remote systems, drawing on theories of skill acquisition to address the needs of less experienced operators who are increasingly being engaged as operations controllers. Specifically, adaptive interfaces are advocated that are designed to facilitate the progression to expertise. Using cue utilisation as an underlying theoretical perspective, interfaces can be designed to extract and emphasise the relationship between features and events that eventually form the basis of the cues employed by expert practitioners.