Lessons learned from routing military convoys
Bruce E. Peterson, Shih-Miao Chin · 1989
Most geographic applications systems designed to solve real problems implicitly have dual objectives: not only must they provide good solutions, but they must also communicate with their users. The former is well appreciated, but technical prowess will be for nought if the people with the actual problem are unable to establish to the system the problem's parameters and readily understand model results. Unfortunately, these objectives are sometimes at cross purposes, and compromises must be made in system design which will do the least damage to both. We discuss here some of the design aspects of the Mobilization Automated Control System (MASS) that illustrate the nature of these compromises, and our experiences with users that have influenced our choices. This discussion will center on three dichotomies in system design: optimality vs. practicality; flexibility vs. rigidity; and visual vs. verbal communication. Our experience should show why these approaches are in tension and the advantages of each, and that many design questions can be places on these dimensions. 5 refs., 2 figs.