Human-centred design approach to finding user requirements for a status monitoring system of a multivessel MASS operation

The maritime industry is actively in the development of advancements necessary to facilitate the implementation of autonomous cargo shipping operations on a commercial scale. The emergence of autonomous maritime shipping operations, where vessels are controlled from land-based operation centres, is expected to have a significant impact on the nature of work for maritime officers. In remote and autonomous operations, the simultaneous operation of multiple ships becomes an important feature that necessitates new type of control tools to monitor these operations. In this context, our study seeks to understand the context and user requirements of the future operators through human-centred design process by involving diverse field experts. User requirements for a status monitoring tool were refined through expert participation and a first-phase prototype was designed and evaluated. The study’s main finding highlights that an accessible tool, that dis-plays whole operation assets in a simplified view, in which alerts are dis-played in the context of mission, enhances situational awareness and team communication. This finding contributes to the existing body of knowledge regarding the requirements of the future remote officers’ needs concerning system status monitoring and team communication.