ABSTRACT
There is an extensive literature describing the problems that flight deck crew are experiencing in the management of modern flight decks. Professional opinion is polarising around the view that aspects of civil flight decks are not designed with the users in mind. The development of an integrated pilot centred flight deck is the central aim of the DTI supported, Advanced Flight Deck Technologies Project. This paper describes the background to, and development of a prototype methodology to support human centred flight deck automation design decisions. Initial application of the methodology towards the primary flight control task in a modern aircraft is reported. Results indicate that the approach has the potential to yield useful quantitative and qualitative data to support the design process. But several important steps must be taken before this can be achieved, notably the development of a flight deck automation philosophy and a set of automation design principles to support design decisions and thus provide a coherent design rationale.
