<p>The Functional Resonance Accident Model is a method developed to analyze complex systems for the purpose of accident prevention. In FRAM-analysis a visualization of the complex system is created as an aid for identifying points of interaction in the system where the risk of accidents is high, and to determine where preventive measures are to be placed. FRAM Visualizer is a computer program developed as a tool for creating such visualizations.</p><p>Many usability problems have been identified in FRAM visualizations created both manually according to established method and by using the FRAM Visualizer software. The purpose of this paper is to give a basis for how FRAM visualizations can be improved in accordance with usability criteria for use in future qualitative studies.</p><p>The author suggests alterations to the FRAM visualization to resolve usability issues identified in previous articles and to achieve usability goals derived from visual communication theory. The design process is guided by established design principles. The author outlines a proposal for usability testing of the redesigned FRAM visualization to verify that it achieves the usability goals.</p><p>The author concludes that though the redesign offers solutions for the most important problems (providing the user with detailed information as a basis for analysis and enabling the layout of clearer and more easily overviewed structures in the FRAM diagrams) the visualization must be subjected to usability testing to determine whether the design criteria have been achieved and the solutions of design problems are satisfactory. The redesigned visualization appears most effective when presented in an interactive format. It often requires multiple optimized static views to satisfactorily support browsing both in overview and in detail.</p><p> </p>

The Functional Resonance Accident Model is a method developed to analyze complex systems for the purpose of accident prevention. In FRAM-analysis a visualization of the complex system is created as an aid for identifying points of interaction in the system where the risk of accidents is high, and to determine where preventive measures are to be placed. FRAM Visualizer is a computer program developed as a tool for creating such visualizations. Many usability problems have been identified in FRAM visualizations created both manually according to established method and by using the FRAM Visualizer software. The purpose of this paper is to give a basis for how FRAM visualizations can be improved in accordance with usability criteria for use in future qualitative studies. The author suggests alterations to the FRAM visualization to resolve usability issues identified in previous articles and to achieve usability goals derived from visual communication theory. The design process is guided by established design principles. The author outlines a proposal for usability testing of the redesigned FRAM visualization to verify that it achieves the usability goals. The author concludes that though the redesign offers solutions for the most important problems (providing the user with detailed information as a basis for analysis and enabling the layout of clearer and more easily overviewed structures in the FRAM diagrams) the visualization must be subjected to usability testing to determine whether the design criteria have been achieved and the solutions of design problems are satisfactory. The redesigned visualization appears most effective when presented in an interactive format. It often requires multiple optimized static views to satisfactorily support browsing both in overview and in detail.

Syftet med denna studie var att utforska nautiska befäls attityder till larmen de kan ställas inför på sin brygga och den eventuella kausaliteten. Tidigare forskning inom larm och forskning inom optimering av brygglayouter presenterade ett problematiskt fenomen vilken av Papastavrou och Lehto kallas för cry-wolf. Detta fenomen beskriver att operatörer av system med larm, till exempel sjöfartsofficerare, tenderar att ignorera larmen om de utsätts för en hög frekvens av larm, denna höga frekvens kallar Al-Dabbagh och Tongwen för alarm-floods. Denna studie kommer fram till att cry-wolf fenomenet existerar ombord det fartyg studien utfördes på. Datainsamlingen utfördes med den kvalitativa forskningsmetodiken, främst genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Dessa intervjuer kompletterades sedan med ostrukturerade observationer vilka utfördes under en nio dagar lång fältstudie. Studiens primärdata analyserades genom innehållsanalyser och detta gjordes ur det hermeneutiska perspektivet. Studien fann att befälen tenderar att ignorera larmen om larmen inte klassas som nödlarm. Vidare presenteras två potentiella lösningar som ämnar ge tillbaka den tyngd larmen borde associeras med. Utöver detta presenteras också en hypotes vilken syftar till att ta reda på om ett givet fartyg påverkas av cry-wolf fenomenet. Denna hypotes måste valideras innan den kan godtas som gångbar för sjöfarten som helhet. / The main purpose of this thesis was to explore nautical officer’s attitudes towards the alarms they may encounter on the bridge and the eventual causality between the officers and their actions concerning the alarms. Earlier research into alarms and research regarding optimization of bridge-layouts presented a problematic theory which Papastavrou and Lehto call cry-wolf. Wherein the operators of systems, or ships, with advanced alarms tend to ignore the alarms if they are subjected to a high frequency of alarms, or alarm-floods as Al-Dabbagh and Tongwen calls it. This study shows that, on board the vessel which the study was conducted, the cry-wolf phenomena exist. The study was conducted on board a Swedish vessel from the hermeneutical perspective. The data collection was done with the qualitative method, primarily through semi-structured interviews and these were then enriched with data from unstructured observations which were made during a nine-day stay aboard said vessel. The collected data has been analysed through content analysis from the hermeneutical perspective and the study reveals that the officers tend to ignore the alarms, unless they are classified as emergency alarms. This study proposes two potential fixes for how to make the alarms less overwhelming and how to give back the importance of the alarms. Furthermore, the study presents a hypothesis which aims to find whether or not a given vessel is subject to the cry-wolf phenomena. This hypothesis needs to be proven in future research before it can be proclaimed as a valid hypothesis.