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The work described here builds on earlier efforts:
HyperDoc [8] is an interactive device simulator that
generates interactive assistance, hypertext manuals, and
also supports sophisticated design analysis in Mathematica;
Manual Writer [9] is a simple program taking Prolog
system specifications and managing the technical authors’
and engineers’ concurrent revision and editing.
Keywords These approaches are restricted to finite state machine
(FSM) descriptions. This is not as problematical as it may
sound, since FSMs need never be represented explicitly by
the designers—they can be constructed in Mathematica or
Prolog. However, FSMs lack structure and the design of a
good manual is a hard problem. We have had some success
generating statechart-based manuals automatically, but it
seems better to use a higher level approach than FSMs.
User manuals, formal specification,
concurrent engineering.
INTRODUCTION
User manuals are the scapegoat of bad system design.
Systems with bad user interfaces are difficult to explain
clearly, how ever skillful the manual’s technical authors.
Many guidelines have been proposed to improve user
manuals, notably Carroll’s work [2]. It seems, however,
that most attempts to improve manuals take the design of
the system for granted. Maybe Carroll’s minimal manual
idea could be used to drive design: if a better manual is
shorter, then a better design might lend itself to being
explained in a briefer manual [7]. As pointed out in [7], to
do this assumes concurrent engineering practice. Writing
the manual after the design has been finalised is too late
(even if writing proceeds in parallel with system
implementation). Insights technical authors and others have
reading the manual are too late.
An alternative approach is to use sophisticated natural
language generation, such as IDAS [5]. There is scope for
both approaches in technical authoring, but in contrast to
us, these approaches typically rely on world knowledge
databases, whereas we wish to emphasise accuracy and
mathematical tractability, and simplicity.
EXAMPLE: ORIGINAL A320 MANUAL
We give a verbatim exerpt from the A320 FCOM Brakes
and Antiskid, 1.32.30, Rev 15, Seq 001 (quoted in [3]):
ALTERNATE BRAKING WITHOUT ANTI-SKID
Computer science is increasingly moving towards formal The anti-skid system is deactivated:
specification, where the design of a system is described
mathematically, analysed, and only then transformed into
software, firmware or hardware. Formal methods may be
required in military and safety critical applications. Though
this may improve the technical quality of the delivered
product, it adds yet another step in the design process, and
makes the inital design work even less accessible to users
and non-technical experts, including user interface
designers. What is required is a fast way to move from
formal specification to user manual.
• electrically (A/SKID and N/W STRG sw OFF or
power supply failure or BSCU failure)
• or hydraulically (Y+G sys to lo press, the
brakes are supplied by the brake
accumulators only).
Note unexplained abbreviations such as Y+G, and that the
phrase “A/SKID and N/W STRG sw OFF or power
supply failure or BSCU failure” has at least three
different interpretations.
Ladkin took the A320 FCOM and derived a specification
of the braking subsystem [3]. Part of this specification
looks like this: (A/S off and N/W STRG off) or power
supply failure or BSCU failure or (green
lowpress and yellow lowpress).
We propose an approach that takes a specification of the
device as a set of predicates (as in TLA [4]) and
automatically writes a (hypertext) minimal manual. As
systems become more complex it is essential to have
Ladkin’s reverse engineering exposed many problems with
the FCOM. Reverse engineering is not necessary where a
specification is otherwise available.
switching off. We are exploring the use of circuit design
tools to analyse user manuals to relate usability
requirements back to specifications.
THE MANUAL SPECIFICATION LANGUAGE CONCLUSIONS
The approach easily generates an improved extract for the
A320 FCOM. Had such a system been available when the
A320 was designed, user interface specialists and pilots
would have been able to address some of the design issues
that are now so obvious. Had the A320 specification design
changed as a result of these insights, the manual could have
been updated almost instantaneously. This sort of leverage
must be a major contribution to the effectiveness and
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