Carl Westin

7-4 Limitations and pitfalls of strategic conformance 165 7-3-5 Framing advice Information given to people about an automated system can play a critical role in subsequent interactions with that system. In simulations, resolution advisories were always framed to originate from an automated source, except in the Source bias study (Chapter 4) where a human source also was used. Thus, controllers were not aware of the conformance manipulation. Considering the trend towards more personalized decision support, it would be interesting to investigate the effects of conformal automation with participants being informed that advice, truly, is based on their own problem-solving style. Would the framing of automation as either con- formal or nonconformal amplify or cancel out acceptance and performance effects? 7-3-6 Horizontal traffic and simulator realism The simulation environment was restricted to the horizontal plane, with vertical so- lutions not possible. This was desirable for purposes of experimental control, and for simplifying manual analysis of solutions and the creation of conformal and non- conformal advisories. In addition to making scenarios less realistic, the restricted maneuverability for solving conflicts reduced the variability in solutions observed. However, the horizontal limitation did not ease the CD&R task, rather made it more difficult as controllers only had speed and/or heading at their disposal for solving conflicts. Future research should incorporate a complete three-dimensional sector environment and solution space for analyzing strategic conformance. With more available options, solution variability can be expected to increase. Of particular interest would be the effect of introducing the vertical plane on conflict solving consistency and agreement. 7-4 Limitations and pitfalls of strategic conformance Several limitations and pitfalls of strategic conformance were identified during con- cept development (see Chapter 2). While some were addressed in the empirical studies (e.g., consistency and agreement, expert and novice users in Chapter 6), new aspects have been identified. This final section discusses the most relevant concerns surrounding the strategic conformance concept. 7-4-1 What is the point in repeating human solutions? It can be questioned whether emulating human decision-making strategies is desir- able given decision-making biases and other cognitive limitations. This compelling criticism of strategic conformance relates to Kirwan and Flynn’s first and last argu- ments against heuristic forms of automation (listed in Table 1, Chapter 2). 29 The