Comparing design options for allocating communication media in cooperative safety-critical contexts: a method and a case study

In this article we present a method for evaluating and comparing design options for allocating communication media. The method pays particular attention to how such options support cooperation in an interactive safety-critical system. The comparison is performed using threesets of criteria based on task performance, analysis of user deviations and consequent hazards, and coordination. The explicit emphasis on hazards and communication issues, using actual tasks to guide the evaluation, ensures that designers attention is focused on the interactions where problems are likely to occur. We describe an application of the method to the design of access to new communication technology in an air traffic control environment.