Where enhanced coordination is desired between personnel, the group-view display should feature open tools for interacting with the HSI or the plant.
Additional Information:
The "openness" of a tool refers to the degree to which it enables other personnel to infer useful information about the nature of the task and the specific actions being taken by observing its use by the operator. User interfaces that incorporate representations of physical and functional characteristics of the problem domain can provide observers with a context for understanding the task. For example, a group-view display may be used to allow personnel to observe a control action such as the alignment of a piping system. In this case, a mimic display, in which operators manipulate graphical objects, may provide more useful information to an observer than if the same task were performed via text commands on a keyboard. This is because the display conveys to the observer physical characteristics of the task, such as the type of valve being operated, and functional characteristics, such as the relationship of the valve to the overall piping system, which provides the observer with a better understanding of what action has been performed and its significance to the plant system.