User-centered interface design for integrated waste management on ships — Customized digitalization for marine engine control room

Abstract

Digitalization has become ubiquitous in the software-intensive industry with the development of information technology. However, digitalization remains a work in progress for many traditional manufacturing industries like maritime. Effective digital transformation concerns a balance between users' needs, the technology, and the organization. User-centered approaches are proven to effectively improve the user experience and competitiveness of marine industrial supplies by pursuing digital solutions that meet users' real needs.

This thesis explored the challenges of digital transformation with inconsistent human-machine interfaces of waste processing plants on ships. The objective is to apply user-centered design (UCD) approaches to create new user interfaces for an integrated waste management system to facilitate the processing engineers and other related ship crews to monitor the real-time operational data and convenience of maintaining waste processing plants on cruise ships. This thesis investigated real users' perceptions and expectations of the user interfaces for an integrated waste management system in the marine Engine Control Room (ECR).

An exploratory case study was adopted, including three phases: understanding contextual user needs, designing prototypes with collaboration, and iteratively evaluating designs to get feedback. Various qualitative (e.g. observation and interviews) and quantitative methods (questionnaires) were embedded in the three phases to understand the user needs and experiences of marine ECR operators.

Evaluation results demonstrated how UCD practices can effectively invent user interfaces for an integrated waste management system in the ECR. Identified benefits and challenges provided insights into the improvements in digital experiences in ECR. This thesis highlighted that adequate user involvement in the design process could reach digital transformation to better support the tasks of ECR operators in the marine ECR waste management context.