Model of connectivity indicator of user interfaces of automated workplaces of emergency services

Abstract

Introduction. The article presents a model and analytical expressions for calculating one of the possible indicators of the quality of user interfaces (UI) of automated workstations of operational units of emergency rescue services (OU ERS), namely the connectivity indicator. The quantitative value of the indicator allows us to assess the measure of compliance of the visual design of the UI with the psychophysiological features of human perception of information. Goals and objectives. Reducing the dispatching time of OU ERS by improving the quality of the UI. Defining user characteristics. Development of a mathematical model and algorithm for calculating the connectivity index of the UI elements, which allows establishing a quantitative dependence of the dispatching time of the OU ERS on the visual design of the UI. Methods. Methods of set theory, graph theory and relational algebra were used to build the UI model and the algorithm for calculating the connectivity index. Results and discussion. The success of the actions of OU ERS largely depends on the dispatch time, during which the required number of units is determined and sent. This time depends on the quality of the ARM and is largely determined by its user interface. However, the time indicator gives an idea only about the relative time – the time spent by one ARM relative to another. And it does not give any idea of the optimal time that would be spent on solving the task of an ARM with an optimal visual UI design. However, the methods of quantifying the dependence of the dispatch time of the OU ERS on the visual design of the UI are currently insufficiently developed. The proposed connectivity indicator is sensitive to the UI configuration. This allows you to identify and evaluate one of the reasons affecting the quality of the UI, and can be used when designing and/ or choosing the layout of the user interface. Conclusions. Based on the proposed model, an algorithm has been developed for calculating the numerical values of the connectivity index of UI elements sensitive to their relative location, size and design on the monitor of the dispatcher of the ARM OU ERS. This makes it possible to optimize the user interface according to the criterion of time for solving tasks and, accordingly, reduce the dispatching time. Keywords: operational units, user interface, quality, connectivity indicator, sets, navigation on sets.