name: Bugaay, rosen Anthony r.

Date: august 30, 2022

Activity #1

1.) Comment on the user of color in the Alarm Control, Emergency Shutdown
and Emergency Confirm panels (Figure CS.2 – for figures, see the web
scenario).

Referring to the design in Figure CS.2 which are alarm and emergency sub-panels,
the utilization of colors in Alarm Control, Emergency Shutdown and Emergency
Confirm Panels deemed ideal in accordance for selecting user preferences
interface colors that are quite understood by the majority. The selection of color
buttons influences the readability and the usefulness of the user interface. The
interface in this scenario is quite efficient, with situations such as urgent
emergencies might occur which is indicated in red and the CANCEL option in
green, making it clear that this is not a situational emergency. Minimizing the time
necessary to determine whether to push a button in an emergency.

2.) Comment on the use of layout and other elements in the control panels
(Figures CS.1, CS.2 and CS.3), including the way in which various visual
elements support or hinder logical grouping and sequence.
As a user without having the knowledge on how to operate the Nuclear Reactor
Main Control Panel, in the Figure CS.1 The Nuclear Reactor Main Control Panel,
I would group them accordingly in which the important control panels should be
placed. I will arrange them neatly in a vertical manner in a way any staff would find
it as an ease of readability just by looking at those panels. I would rather remove
the adding (+) and reducing (-) the alarm state between the three switches or
buttons as they specify the similar state of emergency. As emergency occurs, all
we have to do is to press the red one which represents an urgent situation and a
green for a minor problem situation. In Emergency Shutdown, I would prefer that
the CONFIRM button is color green as it logically understood that you are
proceeding the operation and not cancelling it. For Figure CS.3, I will switch the
Manual Override to Automatic Override as you cannot just predict what pressure
should be set during the problem as it also affects the conditions in temperature
and flow rate. Automatic Override optimizes on what pressure must be set in order
for the reactor to stabilize.
3.) Working through the accident scenario, explain why the various problems
arise.

The various problems arise in the first place when Jenny notices the core reaction
rate has risen very rapidly which is in fact understood that it is not yet normal
anymore, she should have pressed multiple times the + button knowing that it is a
rapid core reaction rate that is happening. At the same time, the + and – button is
indeed a failure as it doesn’t listen to you the way on what kind of situational
emergency that you wished to deliver to the staffs. These problems arise due to
the faulty of the layout which requires an immediate improvisation to the panel
turning into a simple panel that makes the users interaction simple and efficient.

4.) Suggest potential ways of improving the interface to avoid a similar problem
recurring.

The potential ways of improving the interface to avoid a similar problem occurring
is by following the 3 Golden Rules of UI design which are Place Users in Control
;Reduce Users' Memory Load; and Make the Interface Consistent. The interface
should be designed in such a manner that it can do operations appropriately and
manage a wide range of activities just like the Nuclear Reactor’s Control Panel. It
should be simple to use and understand. Users must accept the interface as a tool
for their task to perform their jobs efficiently and accurately. We should anticipate
what users might need to do and ensuring that the interface has elements that are
easy to access, understand, and use to facilitate those actions.