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Toward a user-centered design of a weather forecasting decision-support tool

Argyle, Elizabeth M.; Gourley, Jonathan J.; Flamig, Zachary L.; Hansen, Tracy; Manross, Kevin

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Authors

Elizabeth M. Argyle

Jonathan J. Gourley

Zachary L. Flamig

Tracy Hansen

Kevin Manross



Abstract

Hazard Services is a software toolkit that integrates information management, hazard alerting, and communication functions into a single user interface. When complete, National Weather Service forecasters across the United States will use Hazard Services for operational issuance of weather and hydrologic alerts, making the system an instrumental part of the threat management process. As a new decision-support tool, incorporating an understanding of user requirements and behavior is an important part of building a system that is usable, allowing users to perform work-related tasks efficiently and effectively. This paper discusses the Hazard Services system and findings from a usability evaluation with a sample of end users. Usability evaluations are frequently used to support software and website development and can provide feedback on a system’s efficiency of use, effectiveness, and learnability. In the present study, a user-testing evaluation assessed task performance in terms of error rates, error types, response time, and subjective feedback from a questionnaire. A series of design recommendations was developed based on the evaluation’s findings. The recommendations not only further the design of Hazard Services, but they may also inform the designs of other decision-support tools used in weather and hydrologic forecasting.

Incorporating usability evaluation into the iterative design of decision-support tools, such as Hazard Services, can improve system efficiency, effectiveness, and user experience.

Citation

Argyle, E. M., Gourley, J. J., Flamig, Z. L., Hansen, T., & Manross, K. (2017). Toward a user-centered design of a weather forecasting decision-support tool. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 98(2), 373-382. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0031.1

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 20, 2016
Online Publication Date Mar 7, 2017
Publication Date Feb 1, 2017
Deposit Date Apr 5, 2018
Publicly Available Date Apr 5, 2018
Journal Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Electronic ISSN 1520-0477
Publisher American Meteorological Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 98
Issue 2
Pages 373-382
DOI https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0031.1
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/970549
Publisher URL https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0031.1
Additional Information © Copyright 2017 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. All AMS journals and monograph publications are registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (http://www.copyright.com). Questions about permission to use materials for which AMS holds the copyright can also be directed to the AMS Permissions Officer at permissions@ametsoc.org. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement, available on the AMS website (http://www.ametsoc.org/CopyrightInformation).
Contract Date Apr 5, 2018

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