Techniques for Managing Stale Mission Information Through Card-Based User Interfaces

Pilots often build off prior mission data when planning new missions to save time as some elements will stay consistent across missions. However, when using prior mission data, there is a risk with using old or stale data for data that rarely changes, such as weather data. This places the onus on pilots to recognize and correct outdated information. To address this challenge, methods are needed that (1) reveal stale information so the pilot can take appropriate action to update it; and (2) enable awareness of data time-sensitivity and expiration. This paper describes the design of visual methods to address this issue within a card-based user interface (UI) mission planning workspace. Specifically, this paper describes implicit and explicit methods for indicating staleness and time-sensitivity within and across card UIs. These methods will reduce error and improve efficiency in mission planning.