JP2001042924A - Human interface evaluation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suggest the presence of hierarchical defective between pictures by extracting the relation between the pictures and to confirm in designing that corrections are so made as to eliminate the defect after the individual pictures are corrected according to the suggestion. SOLUTION: This device is equipped with a calculating means which calculates a frequency among hierarchical pictures as a power sum of hierarchies by using a normalized matrix X obtained by normalizing a matrix X0 showing the frequency of direct movement among pictures (a), (b), (c)... to generate a total frequency matrix Xr and generates a relativity directional graph by plotting respective operations on a coordinate system of D-R and D+R according to the row sums D and column sums R. In this graph, it is visually suggested that there are individual defects of picture constitution and defects of hierarchies. According to the suggestions, the pictures are corrected. Operation history information is obtained by a driver and a designer and differences in understanding between the designer and river are judged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a human interface evaluation device, and more particularly to a human interface evaluation device capable of suitably evaluating the hierarchical structure and association of screens of the entire system without being limited to individual screens. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A machine is operated by a human operation on a CRT screen. For the operation of such a machine, a tool called a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or HI (Human Interface) which is a man-machine interface is used. A driving operation button operated by a click button or the like, information necessary for the driving, and the like are displayed on a CRT screen as a human interface.

[0003] Information displayed on a CRT screen is represented by a plurality of screens switched by a switching operation. The operator operates the entire machine such as a plant while monitoring various devices by switching the plurality of screens one after another.
Screen configuration, association between screens (jump from one screen to another, etc.), amount of information displayed on each screen
The quality of the contents and the timing of information presentation, that is, the quality of the human interface, leads to the ease of monitoring and controlling the driving system.

Therefore, the screen configuration, the amount and content of information displayed on each screen, and the timing of information presentation are evaluation targets when evaluating the human interface.
In general, the screen configuration and
There is a human interface design flow of designing relevance and then designing display information of individual screens.

Such a human interface naturally requires ease of use. Since there is a complicated relationship between devices constituting the operation of the nuclear power plant, the control operation of the floodgate, and the like, it takes a great deal of time to construct a CRT screen for performing the operation according to the procedure. Although such design is time-consuming, designing the tool is inconvenient (operability) when actually operating the CRT screen. It is often the case that even if the user is asked what the inconvenience is, the user cannot get a precise and clear indication of the problem.

There is a demand for the development of a human interface evaluation device that assists in finding operability problems based on the user's operation behavior even if there is no specific indication from the user. A basic idea of such a human interface evaluation device is introduced by Ikemoto and Imamura (Toshiba Review, 1996, Vol. 51, No. 2).

This human interface evaluation device automatically detects a potentially problematic operation from the history of user operations. The human interface evaluation device includes an operation history storage unit for storing an operation history, and an operability evaluation unit for evaluating operability based on the operation history stored in the operation history storage unit.
The operability evaluation unit includes an operation time evaluation unit, an operation frequency evaluation unit, and an erroneous operation evaluation unit.

The operation history storage means stores the following data from a user's input operation. (1) Time-series change of the display position of the mouse cursor (2) Mouse button operation and keyboard operation (3) Name and coordinates of operated GUI parts, presence or absence of internal processing (4) When display screen is updated Screen hardcopy

The operation time evaluation means compares the actual time (actual measurement time) required from one operation to the next operation, which is performed using a mouse button, with the predicted time, and when the difference is large, Investigate whether this is due to a defect in the human interface (screen configuration). Here, the predicted time is calculated from a distance from a position at which the operation is started on the screen to the center of the operation target, a smaller one of the width and height of the operation target, and the like.

The operation frequency evaluation means detects the frequency of a certain operation from the operation history, and determines the frequency of the operation as a measure of the existence of an inadequate screen configuration. When the operation frequency of a certain operation is high, it can be used as a guide for judging that the screen configuration (layout) should have some defect.

The erroneous operation evaluation means detects a pointing operation (operation failure) performed in a place where there is no target, and an operation of opening a menu and displaying options but selecting nothing (wasteful operation). The presence of these erroneous operations can serve as a guide for determining that there is some defect in the screen configuration.

According to the human interface evaluation device as described above, it is possible to extract the problem on the human interface on each screen, that is, the problem on whether the amount and the content of the display information on the screen are easy for the operator to understand. The designer can pay attention to the extraction result and review the interface of each screen.

[0013]

Such a human interface evaluation apparatus gives an opportunity to review the screen configuration, but the extracted tasks merely indicate the existence of a task in each screen. That is, in the conventional human interface evaluation technology, the evaluation of the display information of each screen on the downstream side of the human interface design process (the amount and content of the information displayed on each screen,
(Evaluation of information presentation timing, etc.), and there is no method to directly evaluate the hierarchical structure of the screen of the entire system, which is the upstream process, and the association between the screens, so that sufficient evaluation results cannot be obtained There were challenges.

The present invention has been made based on such a technical background and solves the following problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a hierarchical configuration of a screen of the entire system, which is an upstream process of human interface design,
An object of the present invention is to provide a human interface evaluation device capable of obtaining an evaluation relating to association between screens.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a human interface evaluation device capable of extracting association between screens and indicating the existence of a defect on a hierarchy between screens. Still another object of the present invention is to extract the association between the screens to indicate the existence of a hierarchical defect between the screens. After correcting the individual screens based on the suggestion, the defect is corrected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a human interface evaluation device that can confirm at the time of design that a correction has been made in a direction in which the correction is performed. Still another object of the present invention is to provide
The association between the screens can be extracted to indicate the existence of a deficiency in the hierarchy between the screens. After correcting each screen based on the suggestion, the correction is performed in a direction in which the deficiency is resolved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a human interface evaluation device capable of performing mathematical processing for mathematically extracting a general association between screens so that the user can confirm that the design has been performed. Still other individual objects of the present invention will be more specifically described below through embodiments.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a human interface evaluation device, comprising: operation history storage means for storing history data indicating a history of a series of operations performed by switching a plurality of screens; A human interface evaluation device for evaluating a human interface with respect to the overall configuration of the plurality of screens, wherein the human interface evaluation means includes: Switching frequency calculating means for calculating direct switching frequency data indicating the direct switching frequency of the direct switching frequency data, performing mathematical processing on the direct switching frequency data, and converting the direct switching frequency data into data relating to the hierarchical configuration of the screen. Switching frequency data for converting to the total switching frequency data Data conversion means, screen relevance data calculation means for calculating screen relevance data indicating the relevance between one screen of the plurality of screens and another screen based on the total switching frequency data, and the screen Data display means for displaying the relevance data.

In the human interface evaluation device of the present invention, the human interface evaluation means further includes an operation time evaluation means for evaluating an operation time between one operation and another operation in the series of operations. And an operation frequency evaluation unit for evaluating the frequency of each operation in the series of operations, and an erroneous operation evaluation unit for evaluating an erroneous operation performed during the series of operations.

In the human interface evaluation device of the present invention, the switching frequency calculating means calculates, for each of the plurality of screens, the frequency at which the screen is switched to another screen when calculating the direct switching frequency data. Expressed as a square matrix.

In the human interface evaluation device according to the present invention, the switching frequency data conversion means includes a first calculator for normalizing the square matrix to generate a normalization matrix, and the normalization matrix by an indirect path. A second calculator for converting to a general relation matrix indicating a switchable screen relation;
A third calculator for respectively calculating a row sum R and a column sum D of the comprehensive relation matrix, a first value obtained by subtracting the row sum R from the column sum D, the column sum D and the row sum R plus 2
And a fourth calculator for respectively calculating the values of
The second calculator calculates the sum related power matrix by calculating a sum of powers in the normalized matrix, the data indicating the depth of the screen hierarchy as data relating to the hierarchical structure of the screen being a power multiplier. The data display means displays the first value and the second value for each screen on a coordinate system using the first value and the second value as coordinate axes.

It is preferable for the mathematical processing that the direct switching frequency data represents, for each screen, a frequency at which the screen is switched to another screen by a square matrix. That is, as an evaluation method, DEMATE
It is preferable to use the L method. This square matrix, which is a direct relation matrix, is normalized. A matrix that is developed as a power sum using the depth of the hierarchy as a power multiplier using the normalized matrix thus normalized is given as a general relation matrix in which hierarchical depth information is incorporated. The row sum R and the column sum W give the degree of influence on other screens and the degree of relevance to other screens. The degree of influence can be represented by DR, and the degree of association can be represented by D + R.

In the human interface evaluation device according to the present invention, the operation history storage means stores history data indicating a history when the series of operations is actually performed, and the human interface evaluation means further comprises:
Anticipation operation history storage means for storing history prediction data indicating a history of the series of operations expected at a stage where the series of operations is assumed to have been performed before the series of operations is performed; and A second switching frequency calculating means for calculating direct switching predicted frequency data indicating a direct switching predicted frequency between the plurality of screens based on the predicted data; and performing mathematical processing on the direct switching predicted frequency data. A second switching frequency data conversion means for converting the direct switching expected frequency data into comprehensive switching expected frequency data including data on the expected hierarchical configuration of the screen; Second screen relevance data calculating means for calculating screen relevance prediction data indicating a relevance between one screen of the plurality of screens and another screen based on the plurality of screens; And a second data display means for displaying the data.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a human interface evaluation device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 600 denotes a human interface evaluation device of the present embodiment. This human interface evaluation device 600
This is to evaluate the human interface of the plant monitoring and control system 400 in which the plant 100 is to be monitored and controlled.

The operator 500 who monitors and controls the plant 100 on the screen of the plant monitoring and control system 400 agrees with the designer 700 who performs evaluation by the human interface evaluation device 600 at the stage of designing the plant monitoring and control system 400. You may. Operation (monitoring control)
Is performed according to the operation procedure created by the designer 700, but the operator 500, which is a user, can also perform the operation according to his own judgment. However, when the evaluation is performed by the screen configuration evaluation unit described later, the operation is performed according to the procedure designed by the designer 700.

The equipment control means 200 and the input / output relay means 300 are provided between the plant 100 and the plant monitoring and control system 400. The device control means 200 includes:
This is a means for controlling each device of the plant 100 to be monitored and controlled. The input / output relay unit 300 is a unit that relays exchange of monitoring control signals between the plant 100 and the plant monitoring control system 400.

The plant monitoring and control system 400 includes an input processing unit 410, a data processing unit 420, and a monitoring control information display unit 430. Input processing means 410
Is a means for the operator 500 to select and switch corresponding monitoring control screens and information in order to collect plant information according to the state and operation status of the plant. The data processing means 420 processes the input data of the plant information. The monitoring control information display means 430 displays the operator 50
0 is a means for monitoring the plant information. An input / output signal is input / output from the input / output relay unit 300 to the data processing unit 420.

Human interface evaluation device 600
Is a plant data storage unit 610, an operation history storage unit 620, and a human interface evaluation unit 630.
And an evaluation result display means 640. History data indicating information on a plant is input from the data processing unit 420 to the plant data storage unit 610.

Operation history information is input to the operation history storage unit 620 from the data processing unit 420. The operation history information includes a screen switching history indicating a screen switching history, an operation history for recording the order of operation procedures, and an operation time (time from one operation to the next operation) required for the operation. It is. The plant information stored in the plant data storage unit 610 and the operation history information stored in the operation history storage unit 620 are input to the human interface evaluation unit 630, respectively.

Human interface evaluation means 630
Are operation time evaluation means 631 and operation frequency evaluation means 63
2, erroneous operation evaluation means 633, and screen configuration evaluation means 63
4 and the plant data storage means 610.
Various evaluations are performed based on the plant history information and the operation history information from the operation history storage unit 620.

When the operator performs a series of operations, the operation time evaluation means 631 calculates and moves the cursor movement time, key operation time, click time, calculation time, and the like for screen operation using a mouse or buttons. It has a function to compare with the expected operation time of the user. When the difference between the actual operation time and the expected operation time exceeds a certain time, it is extracted as a problem on the human interface.

The operation frequency evaluation means 632 records the operation frequency for each of the selected menus and buttons, and extracts operations having a high operation frequency as issues on the human interface. A set of an operation target and a next operation target is investigated based on the operation history, and each set is divided into two types of periods: a period from one screen update to the next screen update, and a period from the operation start to the operation end. The number of times of operation is calculated and obtained.

The erroneous operation evaluation means 633 performs an operation but does not involve any operation related to the operation of the machine, for example, performs a screen change (menu call), but performs no operation (selection) on the screen. If not, extract it as an issue on the human interface. If the number of meaningless operations / failed operations is large, a design defect is suggested.

The operation time evaluation means 631, the operation frequency evaluation means 632, and the erroneous operation evaluation means 633 are not essential means in the present invention, and the definition of the operation time, frequency, and erroneous operation can be changed.

The evaluation result display means 640 is used by the designer 700
Is an interface for displaying various evaluation results obtained from the human interface evaluation means 630 on a CRT so that the evaluation results can be obtained. These evaluation results serve as information for correcting the configuration of each screen.

The above-mentioned operation time evaluation means 631, operation frequency evaluation means 632, and erroneous operation evaluation means 633 do not give any problem in the human interface regarding the screen hierarchy and the depth of screen switching. That is, there is no suggestion about design deficiencies between screens.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a screen configuration evaluation unit 634 is provided as a unit for giving relation frequency information relating to hierarchy and depth. Screen configuration evaluation means 6
Numeral 34 obtains information on the frequency of movement between individual screens from the screen switching history data in the operation history storage unit 620 through the operation of the operator 500 or the designer 700 for plant monitoring control (either real or simulated). Then, this is a means for calculating the degree of relationship that takes in depth information using this as input data. As an embodiment of the calculation, a mathematical process called a DEMATEL method, which is a kind of linear algebra, is used. Screen configuration evaluation means 634
Obtains a directed graph (see FIGS. 4 and 5) in which the relationship between screens is arranged as a result of analysis by the DEMATEL method, and extracts it as a problem on the human interface related to the screen configuration.

Although the processing of the DEMATEL method will be described in detail later, first, the hierarchy will be described using an embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a hierarchy of human interfaces related to control of a floodgate requiring complicated operations. The screen is a CRT.

As shown in FIG. 2, the “main menu (initial menu)” appears as the 0th layer screen when the computer is started. This 0th hierarchical screen is called an initial menu (initial screen). It is assumed that the “driving operation menu” has been selected. The “driving operation menu” is a first hierarchical screen and is called a menu screen. An operation mode is selected on this menu screen by using a mouse, a click button, a key, and the like. In this example, it is assumed that the number of pumps is three.

"Mode for operating No. 1 and 2 pumps"
Three modes of "mode for operating the No. 3 pump" and "sluice gate operation mode for performing the operation of raising and lowering the gate" can be selected on the same second hierarchical screen. The third layer screen is “1.
"Selection of No. 2 pump", "Start up of No. 3 pump", "Selection of central control equipment", "Screen for performing water gate operation"
It is. The fourth layer screen shows “start operation of No. 1 and 2 pumps” and “stop operation”, “confirmation of start of No. 3 pump”,
"Operation of related devices related to central operation device" and "Screen for confirming operation of floodgate".

The fifth hierarchical screen is "confirmation of start of pump No. 1.2", "confirmation of its stop", and "confirmation of operation of related equipment". These confirmation screens may be displayed collectively as a fifth hierarchical screen. Hereinafter, the operation of “confirmation” is performed on the same screen. In such an example, the number of layers is five or six. In the following description, the floor is assumed to be 5.

The type of switching between screens is 20, which is obtained by subtracting 5 from 25, which is the square of 5, when there is no direct switching from screen a to screen a. When returning to the screen a after transitioning from the screen a to the screen d via the screen c, the switched hierarchy is 4, without counting the switching from the screen a to the screen a.

A certain series of operations is defined by the designer. For example, since the volume of water has increased, the No. 1 pump and No. 3 pump have been operated to raise (open) the sluice to a certain height, then stop these pumps, close the sluice, The operation is such that the pump is driven in reverse. Although there are countless types of such driving, the screen configuration is evaluated by taking an example.

It is assumed that there is provided a jump switching function for shifting from an arbitrary windowed screen to another arbitrary screen without depending on a predetermined order for movement between screens. That is, in addition to the hierarchical movement relationship, a movement function that enables direct movement to a related screen is added. Here, screen transition by one switching operation is referred to as direct transition or direct switching. The fact that the switching can be performed directly without returning to the menu screen, which is the first hierarchical screen, at the time of switching,
There is a great possibility that an easy-to-use screen configuration (interface) can be provided.

However, if the function is inappropriate, the operation becomes complicated or complicated, such as returning to the initial screen and re-moving to obtain necessary information, and there is a problem in the screen configuration itself. . In addition, an excessively free configuration and an excessive number of screens may complicate the operation and may deteriorate the operability. Some screens are switched not only for device operation but also for knowing data necessary for operation. With the addition of such a screen, the floor number / depth becomes larger than 5. A means for extracting these problems from the operation history of the operator 500 is the screen configuration evaluation means 634.

Referring to FIG. 3, the aforementioned DEMATEL
The calculation of an unknown degree of relation by hierarchical analysis using the method will be described. The DEMATEL method is a method for analyzing the structure of a system or problem in which various relationships (directed relationships) are inherently complicated. If a series of tests to operate the pumps and sluice gates are performed by any number of people, the qualities and personality of the people are included.
A deviation process is performed. Hereinafter, an analysis procedure by the DEMATEL method will be described.

(1) Creation of Direct Relation Matrix Xo A series of driving operations are performed on the screen, and as initial data,
A frequency matrix as shown in FIG. In the columns and rows, screens a to z (where z is 26) are arranged in order. Thereby, all combinations between screens can be expressed. For example, the frequency of moving from the screen b to the screen h (not shown), and vice versa,
From the history data stored in the operation history storage unit 620,
The data is classified into four levels (0, 1, 2, 3) by a calculator (not shown) in the screen configuration evaluation means 634.

The matrix shown in FIG. 3A shows a direct relation, and is called a direct relation matrix Xo. It is assumed that there is no movement of the same screen (for example, movement from screen a to screen a) (element relation: 0). For example, the frequency of movement from the screen a to the screen d is 3, which is the highest. Direct relation matrix X
In o, the strength and directionality of the relationship is evaluated based on the movement frequency between screens obtained from the operation history for all combinations between screens, and the movement frequency is organized.

(2) Calculation of General Relation Matrix Xr The direct relation matrix Xo does not represent the frequency having depth information. For example, nothing is expressed about the frequency of moving from the screen a to the screen c via the screens d and f. Therefore,
Normalization is performed on the direct relation matrix Xo. Normalization can be freely defined. For example, a value obtained by dividing each matrix element by the maximum value of the row sum D of each row of the direct relation matrix Xo is newly defined as Xnm. nm indicates a matrix element of n rows and m columns. Element X
The matrix consisting of nm is called the normalization matrix of the direct relation matrix Xo. The “general relation matrix Xr (reachable matrix)” representing the screen relation (inter-screen frequency relation) that can move on the indirect route is calculated as the power sum of the normalization matrix X. General relation matrix Xr
Is innumerable, but it is preferable that it is generally recognized that the following formula is defined. Xr = ΣX ^k

Xr is the sum taken for k. Here, “X” is a normalized matrix of Xo. Also, "k"
Is defined by the number of operation procedures (operation depth), the number of screen switching, and the like, and is generally a depth, a depth floor, and the number of layers (depth of a screen layer) related to the screen switching progress. For example, when moving from screen a to screen d in one, two, and six steps, “k” is a total of “9”. Since the matrix defined here is an operator for probability conversion (frequency conversion), 2
Movement by stages is the square of the matrix. FIG. 3 (b)
As shown in (1), there is virtually a transition from screen a to screen a. The matrix is converted to a matrix equivalent to performing two operations on the same screen. Here, the depth k of the screen hierarchy
Indicates at which level in the hierarchy the screen is. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in the screen of “Select No. 1/2 pump mode”, the depth k of the screen hierarchy is “2”,
In the screen of “Select No. 1 and 2”, the depth k of the screen hierarchy is “3”.
It is.

(3) Visualization of Result Next, the row sum D (movement to other) and the column sum R (movement from other) of the comprehensive relation matrix Xr are calculated by the above calculator. The row sum D and the column sum R indicate respectively the total frequency of moving from one screen to another screen and the total frequency of moving from one screen to another screen. The two frequencies generally do not match.

Next, "degree of influence on others" and "degree of association with others" are defined. The degree of influence (strength of direction) and the degree of relevance (strength of relationship) indicate depth relationship information of the screen hierarchy. Here, the “impact degree” can be defined by DR and the “relevance degree” can be defined by D + R. The “impact degree” and “relevance degree” for each screen can be uniquely obtained from the values of DR and D + R by calculation, so that DR and D + R
, Some depth-related frequency is extracted.

By positioning each operation on an orthogonal coordinate system where the vertical axis is a variable (DR) and the horizontal axis is a variable (D + R), the relationship between the screens can be visually oriented. This is called a directed graph. FIG. 3C shows the directed graph abstractly. Each point connected by an arrow on the graph corresponds to each operation. This method is effective in that it is possible to visually show at a glance how the time series operation has progressed while the “degree of influence” on other things and the “degree of relation” with others change. That is, the screen relevance between operations can be displayed on the CRT.

FIG. 4 shows a directed graph of an actual driving operation. In the directed graph, each point represents one of the constituent screens, and the position of each point on the graph indicates the characteristic of the screen with respect to other screens. For example, it can be seen that the screen No. 0 has a strong relationship with the other screen (see the horizontal axis), but this is due to the characteristic that the screen can be directly moved from the other screen to the screen (the vertical axis).

In the graph of FIG. 4, the point is displayed differently for each type of screen. That is, a hollow circle indicates a menu selection screen, a hatched circle indicates an operation screen, and a black circle indicates a confirmation screen.

On the screen, ellipses indicate grouping. In other words, each ellipse surrounds one having the same screen type (menu selection screen, operation screen, confirmation screen) and belonging to the same area on the graph. This is because if the screens are of the same type, they have the same characteristics in relation to other screens, so that the characteristics that they gather near each other on the graph are confirmed.

Referring to the graph of FIG. 4, the "menu selection screen", which should have the same characteristics, is separated on the graph (for example, the group including 2, 14, 8 and the groups 11, 11, 8).
) Can be extracted. In addition, it is possible to extract a problem that the “menu selection screen” and the “operation screen” are located in the same area on the graph and are not clearly separated. Further, screens 0 and 1 are moved from screen 0 to screen 1 and then to other screens.
Is redundant and there is a possibility that both screens can be combined into one.

In view of the above, the screen configuration was reviewed and the same operation was performed once again to create the above-described directed graph. FIG. 5 is a directed graph after the improvement. It can be seen at a glance that the grouping is much better than the pre-improvement graph of FIG. It can also be seen that the flow between groups is smoother than before the improvement. It can be determined that the usability has been improved. By performing other driving operations and repeating the same method, further improvements can be made gradually. If there is a limit to the correction, the increase or decrease of the hierarchy is corrected.

Next, another embodiment of the human interface evaluation device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment is that
The only difference is that a design-time screen configuration evaluation data storage unit 650 is added to the human interface evaluation device 600. The design-time screen configuration evaluation data storage unit 650 associates the screen intended at the design stage when the system designer 700 is performing the screen configuration with the screen configuration evaluation unit 634 described above using the screen configuration evaluation unit 634. Is a means capable of storing data obtained by performing the above.

Design-time screen configuration evaluation data storage means 650
As a result, a screen configuration evaluation result as a screen movement relationship intended by the designer at the design stage can be obtained. In addition, the screen configuration evaluation unit 634 obtains a screen configuration evaluation result based on the screen movement frequency based on the actual operation of the operator 500. By comparing these, the difference between the intention of the designer 700 and the understanding of the operation of the operator 500, that is,
The reason that screen operation is not performed as intended by the designer
Can be extracted as issues on the human interface.

A characteristic given to each screen at the time of design by the designer 700, that is, a movement function prepared in consideration of the necessity of movement with another screen, is used to determine the frequency of movement between the screens assumed at the time of design. The intended direct relation matrix Xo is given. On the other hand, from the actual operation history of the operator 500, a direct relationship matrix Xo representing the screen relationship understood by the operator 500 is provided. A visualization graph is obtained from each of the direct relation matrices Xo. By comparing those graphs, the designer 700 and the operator 500 can be used to determine which screen to use or which screen to which screen.
Can be extracted if there is a difference in understanding.

In general, a difference in recognition between the designer 700 and the operator 500 appears as a difficulty in using the human interface. Therefore, focusing on a screen having a difference between the two graphs, the characteristics of the screen are reviewed. Thus, problems on the human interface can be extracted and improved. Here, the characteristics of the screen include a function of moving from the screen to another screen, a function of moving from another screen to the screen, a position of the screen in the screen tree of FIG. 2, and the like.

According to this embodiment, the design-time screen configuration evaluation data storage means 650 allows the designer 700 to design the screen hierarchy itself (without being affected by the skill level and the qualities of the driver) at the time of design without plant operation. Deficiencies of the design itself can be found. Comparison between the evaluation by the designer himself and the evaluation by actual operation by the driver at the site, the difference in understanding between the designer and the driver about the operation, that is, the cause of the screen operation not being performed as intended by the designer Can be extracted as issues on the human interface.

[0062]

According to the human interface evaluation device of the present invention, operation history storage means for storing history data indicating a history of a series of operations performed by switching a plurality of screens, and based on the history data, A human interface evaluation device for evaluating a human interface related to the overall configuration of the plurality of screens, wherein the human interface evaluation unit performs direct communication between the plurality of screens based on the history data. A switching frequency calculating means for calculating direct switching frequency data indicating a switching frequency; and performing a mathematical process on the direct switching frequency data to convert the direct switching frequency data with data relating to a hierarchical configuration of the screen. Switching frequency data conversion to convert to total switching frequency data And a screen relevance data calculating means for calculating screen relevance data indicating a relevance between one screen of the plurality of screens and another screen based on the total switching frequency data; and the screen relevance. Since data display means for displaying data is provided, a movement (switching) characteristic between hierarchies is automatically calculated based on a comparison between the intention of the designer and the reality of the actual driving operation. Suggestions for the existence of deficiencies. In particular, by arranging hierarchical frequency information between screens in a matrix, it is possible to objectively obtain the suggestion without regard to intuition.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a human interface evaluation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual design diagram showing a hierarchical structure of a conventional general screen.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts of a process showing a mathematical process using a matrix. FIG. 3A shows a direct relationship matrix, FIG. 3B shows a general relationship matrix, and FIG. 3C shows a directed graph. Is shown.

FIG. 4 is a directed graph before improvement.

FIG. 5 is a directed graph after the improvement.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100: Monitoring / control target plant 400: Plant monitoring / control system 410: Input processing means 420: Data processing means 430: Monitoring control information display means 500: Operator 600: Human interface evaluation device 610: Plant data storage means 620: Operation history storage Means 630 Human interface evaluation means 631 Operation time evaluation means 632 Operation frequency evaluation means 633 Erroneous operation evaluation means 634 Screen configuration evaluation means 640 Evaluation result display means 650 Design screen configuration evaluation data storage means 700 Designer Xo: direct relation matrix X: normalization matrix of direct relation matrix k: depth of screen hierarchy Xr: total relation matrix D: row sum R: column sum

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An operation history storage unit for storing history data indicating a history of a series of operations performed by switching a plurality of screens, and an evaluation of a human interface relating to an overall configuration of the plurality of screens based on the history data. A human interface evaluation unit that performs direct switching frequency data indicating a direct switching frequency between the plurality of screens based on the history data. Switching frequency calculation means for performing mathematical processing on the direct switching frequency data to convert the direct switching frequency data into total switching frequency data including data relating to the hierarchical configuration of the screen. Switching frequency data conversion means, based on the total switching frequency data, A human interface comprising: screen relevance data calculating means for calculating screen relevance data indicating a relevance between one screen and another screen; and a data display means for displaying the screen relevance data. Evaluation device. 2. The human interface evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the human interface evaluation unit is further configured to evaluate an operation time between one operation and another operation in the series of operations. A human comprising: operation time evaluation means; operation frequency evaluation means for evaluating the frequency of each operation in the series of operations; and erroneous operation evaluation means for evaluating an erroneous operation performed in the series of operations. Interface evaluation device. 3. The human interface evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the switching frequency calculating means, when calculating the direct switching frequency data, switches the screen to another screen for each of the plurality of screens. A human interface evaluation device that represents the switching frequency as a square matrix. 4. The human interface evaluation device according to claim 3, wherein the switching frequency data conversion unit includes: a first calculator for normalizing the square matrix to generate a normalization matrix; A second calculator for converting a general relation matrix indicating a screen relation that can be switched by an indirect route, a third calculator for calculating a row sum R and a column sum D of the general relation matrix, respectively, A fourth calculator for calculating a first value obtained by subtracting the row sum R from the column sum D, and a second value obtained by adding the column sum D and the row sum R, The second calculator, the normalized matrix, the data indicating the depth of the screen hierarchy as data relating to the hierarchical structure of the screen is a power multiplier, the sum of powers is calculated by calculating the total relation matrix, The data display means includes: Of the said second value on a coordinate system whose coordinate axes with the values, human interface evaluation device for displaying the first and second values of the respective screens each. 5. The human interface evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the operation history storage means stores history data indicating a history when the series of operations is actually performed, and wherein the human interface evaluation means A prediction operation history storage unit for storing history prediction data indicating a history of the series of operations expected at a stage where the series of operations is assumed to have been performed before the series of operations is performed; and A second switching frequency calculating means for calculating direct switching predicted frequency data indicating a direct switching predicted frequency between the plurality of screens based on the history predicted data; and mathematical processing on the direct switching predicted frequency data To convert the direct switching expected frequency data into total switching expected frequency data to which data relating to the expected hierarchical configuration of the screen is added. 2 switching frequency data conversion means, and a second screen for calculating screen relevance prediction data indicating a relevance between one screen of the plurality of screens and another screen based on the total switching frequency data. A human interface evaluation device comprising: relevance data calculation means; and second data display means for displaying the screen relevance prediction data.