Errors in Searching for Abstraction Hierarchy Information

Abstract

The abstraction hierarchy (Rasmussen, 1985) is a modelling framework proposed for the design of displays to aid problem-solving. The model links information along two dimensions — means-end links of abstraction, and part-whole links of decomposition. While these links connect the model, little research has directly explored the perceptual support of these links. Based on one abstraction hierarchy for a simulated power plant, we designed three graphical displays that provided differential perceptual support for means-end links. The displays provided space-time, only spatial, or only temporal integration of means-end links. Subjects performed a link-spanning information search task using one of the displays. Significant differences were found in search accuracy and in the types of errors that occurred when using the three displays. This research sheds light on the integration of means-end information in ecological displays and demonstrates a novel information search task for evaluating large ecological displays.