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Sensemaking in Practical Design
handles not to fall off, or in moments of inattention in a fast-moving leisure craft it is
a different thing. In this situated context, sensemaking is “ the process of searching
for a representation and encoding data in that representation to answer task-specific
questions” ( Russel et al., 1993). Russel et al. continues “ Different operations during
sensemaking require different cognitive and external resources. Representations are
chosen and changed to reduce the cost of operations in an information processing
task”. So, while drivers in slow weather-sheltered cabin cruisers might benefit from
the protection and time to study information on a chart machine, the speed, vibrations and time constraints of very fast boats and water scooters necessitates other
solutions. This was the one of the motivators of the Sikker kurs project. The other was
the problem of inattentiveness.
Sikker kurS
In 2016, the Sikker kurs project started, financed by the Norwegian Coastal
Administration and Geomatics Norway AS. The purpose was to develop an application for ordinary smartphones to increase safety and possibly decrease the number of
groundings by leisure boats in Norwegian waters. The project was a proof- of-concept
demonstrator, coordinated by Geomatics Norway. The design was made by the
author, working at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology ( NTNU)
in Trondheim, and technical implementation was conducted by Combitech AB in
Linkoping, Sweden. Other partners in the project were the Norwegian Hydrographic
Office ( Kartverket) and the Norwegian Maritime Authority ( Sjofartsdirektoratet). It
was decided that the project would use the human-centred design process ( HCD) in
ISO 9 241-210 ( ISO, 2015) and International Maritime Organization’s ( IMO) guideline on HCD ( IMO, 2015).
concePt
Our goal was to make a navigation aid that would support sensemaking during sea
trips and reduce the risk of groundings ( increase safety) in small boats. We would
do this by designing a smartphone app that would warn the driver of an imminent
grounding danger 30 seconds before impact. Because of the challenging environment on many fast leisure boats ( e.g. a water scooter), the warning should be aural
( and could potentially trigger an automatic engine cut). After stopping the craft, the
driver should have an opportunity to see and understand why the warning had been
given and also find a way out of the situation ( Porathe & Ekskog, 2018). In order to
test this concept, we started to develop a proof- of-concept.
METHOD
human-centreD DeSign ( hcD)
The point of HCD is to ensure user-driven development and good usability by including the end users early in the process and keep them involved during the whole
design. This is done in an iterative process with four steps according to ISO 9241-210:
Sensemaking in Practical Design
handles not to fall off, or in moments of inattention in a fast-moving leisure craft it is
a different thing. In this situated context, sensemaking is “ the process of searching
for a representation and encoding data in that representation to answer task-specific
questions” ( Russel et al., 1993). Russel et al. continues “ Different operations during
sensemaking require different cognitive and external resources. Representations are
chosen and changed to reduce the cost of operations in an information processing
task”. So, while drivers in slow weather-sheltered cabin cruisers might benefit from
the protection and time to study information on a chart machine, the speed, vibrations and time constraints of very fast boats and water scooters necessitates other
solutions. This was the one of the motivators of the Sikker kurs project. The other was
the problem of inattentiveness.
Sikker kurS
In 2016, the Sikker kurs project started, financed by the Norwegian Coastal
Administration and Geomatics Norway AS. The purpose was to develop an application for ordinary smartphones to increase safety and possibly decrease the number of
groundings by leisure boats in Norwegian waters. The project was a proof- of-concept
demonstrator, coordinated by Geomatics Norway. The design was made by the
author, working at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology ( NTNU)
in Trondheim, and technical implementation was conducted by Combitech AB in
Linkoping, Sweden. Other partners in the project were the Norwegian Hydrographic
Office ( Kartverket) and the Norwegian Maritime Authority ( Sjofartsdirektoratet). It
was decided that the project would use the human-centred design process ( HCD) in
ISO 9 241-210 ( ISO, 2015) and International Maritime Organization’s ( IMO) guideline on HCD ( IMO, 2015).
concePt
Our goal was to make a navigation aid that would support sensemaking during sea
trips and reduce the risk of groundings ( increase safety) in small boats. We would
do this by designing a smartphone app that would warn the driver of an imminent
grounding danger 30 seconds before impact. Because of the challenging environment on many fast leisure boats ( e.g. a water scooter), the warning should be aural
( and could potentially trigger an automatic engine cut). After stopping the craft, the
driver should have an opportunity to see and understand why the warning had been
given and also find a way out of the situation ( Porathe & Ekskog, 2018). In order to
test this concept, we started to develop a proof- of-concept.
METHOD
human-centreD DeSign ( hcD)
The point of HCD is to ensure user-driven development and good usability by including the end users early in the process and keep them involved during the whole
design. This is done in an iterative process with four steps according to ISO 9241-210: