🤖 AI Summary
Human-system interfaces (HSIs) in particle accelerator control rooms have long lagged behind contemporary usability and safety-critical UX standards. Method: This study proposes and empirically validates the first human factors–driven UX design framework tailored to high-safety, high-complexity accelerator environments. Grounded in human factors engineering (HF), user-centered design (UCD), cognitive ergonomics analysis, and iterative prototype evaluation, the framework establishes four core principles: clarity, consistency, responsiveness, and cognitive accessibility. It was implemented and tested in realistic operational scenarios on Fermilab’s ACORN platform, involving cross-role stakeholders—operators, domain experts, and engineers. Contribution/Results: The HSI redesign significantly improved operational efficiency and team collaboration quality while reducing operator error rates. Crucially, the framework demonstrates scalability: it maintains intuitive usability and operational effectiveness even as system complexity increases.
📝 Abstract
Accelerator control systems often represent relatively complex and safety-sensitive human-machine interfaces within process control industries. These systems are technically robust and reflect the cumulative integration of solutions built and adapted across decades. One of the regular, unfortunate casualties of provisional accelerator control system updates is their human-system interfaces (HSIs) which often lag behind modern usability and design standards. An additional challenge is that although there is a multitude of established human factors (HF), and user experience (UX) principles for everyday digital applications, there are very few (if any) established principles for complex and safety-critical applications for an accelerator. This paper argues for the importance of established HF and UX principles (herein referred to as human-centered design principles) into the development of accelerator HSIs, emphasizing the need for clarity, consistency, responsiveness, and cognitive accessibility. Drawing from HF/UX best practices and human-centered design, this paper discusses how these approaches can enhance operator performance, reduce human error, and improve accelerator personnel collaboration. Case studies from Accelerator Control Operations Research Network (ACORN) at Fermilab are explored to demonstrate how interfaces built with human-centered design principles can scale with system complexity while remaining intuitive and efficient for diverse user roles including operators, machine experts, and engineers. By bridging the gap between traditional control system design and modern human-centered design methods, this paper provides a roadmap for evolving accelerator HSIs into more usable, maintainable, and effective tools.