Boxes were cluttering the user interface
When using the emergency response system, MASTER, the operators reported a need to open a number of dialog boxes to get the information they sought. The resulting cluttering of the user interface and the many steps needed when operating the touch table is the driving motivation behind our mission of presenting the most relevant information on the icons, alleviating the need to open additional information panels.
Requirements based on interviews and documents
- Who needs to know what?
- What attribututes are the most important in a critical scenario?
- How does the needs of the police differ from the ambulance service?
Many questions needed to be answered in order to find the right information for the right audience. Based on existing research papers and interviews with mission commanders from both the fire and police departments, a data model and some design guidelines for creating icons were made.
Design principles
We followed a number of basic principles when making the icons. Due to the varying nature of the different categories these guidelines were quite category specific. One such example can be seen above.