Flow: an RE & UX analysis on a baggage handling SCADA system

Abstract

The thesis presents a redesign of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) interface used for baggage handling at a Swedish airport company, with the aim of improving usability and system efficiency. It was found that the current system meets most of the users’ needs but some adaptation was needed for a better user experience. The previous developers have used patterns for no particular reason other than that they should. Among the methods used to evaluate the UX, interviews were found to be the most effective and should therefore be used in future evaluations.

Applying user experience (UX) and requirements engineering (RE) together, a prototype was created using Figma and a set of functional and non-functional requirements (FRs and NFRs) was formulated as an additive to existing requirements. Data on the functionality as well as user feedback was collected using a static UX analysis, a user experience questionnaire (UEQ), participant observations, and contextual inquiry as well as phenomenological interviews. Seven users answered the questionnaire, and seven users were observed and interviewed in total. A qualitative data analysis method was performed to categorise data into themes, called thematic analysis, to identify user pain points and key areas to improve. Coding and conclusions drawn from the data were validated through peer reviews. To ensure that the proposed designs and requirements were ethically sound, they were reviewed against the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) code of ethics. To ensure relevance, validation interviews were conducted with seven users. Following the feedback gained from this, the proposed design and requirements were revised and adjusted accordingly.

The project was based on an insight into usability issues in the current system experienced by baggage handling employees. The study aimed to evaluate the current system and suggest design improvements that aim to improve both operator satisfaction and system efficiency.