User Feedback-Informed Interface Design for Flow Management Data and Services (FMDS)

TL;DR

The paper tackles the fragmentation of TFMS by proposing a user-centered FMDS GUI designed to unify 50+ traffic management tools and support NTMS in CDS workflows. It employs a UXD/HFE-driven, iterative design process with interviews from FAA, airline, and NASA stakeholders, using Airspace Flow Programs (AFPs) as a case study to evaluate, model, and monitor Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs). A dual-monitor FMDS prototype featuring three core functions and a Collaboration Feature demonstrates improved task efficiency and usability, supported by qualitative user feedback. Looking forward, the work outlines a live prototype with real NAS data, accessibility enhancements, and broader deployment considerations to realize information-centric NAS goals.

Abstract

The transition to a microservices-based Flow Management Data and Services (FMDS) architecture from the existing Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS) is a critical enabler of the vision for an Information-Centric National Airspace System (NAS). The need to design a user-centric interface for FMDS is a key technical gap, as this interface connects NAS data and services to the traffic management specialists within all stakeholder groups (e.g., FAA, airlines). We provide a research-driven approach towards designing such a graphical user interface (GUI) for FMDS. Major goals include unifying the more than 50 disparate traffic management services currently hosted on TFMS, as well as streamlining the process of evaluating, modeling, and monitoring Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs). Motivated by this, we iteratively designed a GUI leveraging human factors engineering and user experience design principles, as well as user interviews. Through user testing and interviews, we identify workflow benefits of our GUI (e.g., reduction in task completion time), along with next steps for developing a live prototype.

Figures (8)

• Figure 1: Examples of the more than 50 applications that comprise TFMS FAA_ATFM.
• Figure 2: Graphical depiction of the Modeling functionality, including a TSD-style map.
• Figure 3: Map overlays available in TFMS interview_doc.
• Figure 4: Initial designs for FSM graphs.
• Figure 5: Updated designs for Data Cards.