Reducing Cannon Plug Connector Pin Selection Time and Errors through Enhanced Data Presentation Methods

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of data presentation methods on technician performance when the procedures are presented on a monocular, head mounted display HMD in a static maintenance environment. This research used two different methods to present the maintenance task data to the technicians. The first method showed the task as it is typically described in standard technical manuals. It described the task to perform and provided a basic picture of the cannon plug to be tested unenhanced. The second method provided the same information as the first, but it also modified the information by providing visual cues as to which pins were to be selected and connected enhanced. United States Air Force avionics maintenance technicians stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana were the test participants in this study. Measurements included task completion time, task error rate, and technician self reports on the HMD usability. The technicians indicated that HMDs could be a useful tool in the performance of their maintenance duties. The data collected during this study indicates that the technicians performed the tasks quicker and committed fewer errors when they used the enhanced graphical data presentation method to perform the tasks.