Publication
Controlling Communication Satellites - A Case Study: The User Interface
Gerrit Meixner; Rolf Linn
In: Proceedings of the 27th AIAA International Communication Satellite Systems Conference. AIAA International Communication Satellite Systems Conference (ICSSC-09), June 1-4, Edinburg, United Kingdom, AAAI Press, 2009.
Abstract
The satellite operator agency SES-ASTRA in Luxembourg would like to enhance the capabilities of a system that observes and measures the performance of communication satellites. Along with new operational and technical requirements the system's user interface needs to be adapted. The Institute for Innovative Informatics Applications i3A of the University of Applied Sciences Trier provided the user interface design for the development of the new software SAPMES (SAtellite Performance MEasuring System).
This case study illustrates an application of the DATech Usability Guideline with developing a user interface and assuring its usability as well. According to the DATech Usability Guideline a human-centred user interface development is achieved. Though denoted as test procedure, the implied DATech methodology fits also well to the needs of a design project.
In this paper we describe the first project phase in detail, starting with an initial user inquiry, the specification of context scenarios and the identification of key tasks. After this preliminary analysis phase we harmonized the gathered data to define usage requirements for the user interface of SAPMES. According to the defined usage requirements we designed the interaction between user and system, developed initial paper prototypes and conducted usability tests with the different user groups of the existing system. The results of these tests led to an improvement of the design. The last step of this first project phase was the graphic design of the user interface by a designer.