USS McCain collision ultimately caused by UI confusion

Post by FabHK » Fri, Nov 03, 2017, 7:28 AM UTC

carterehsmith wrote: post #136

cocoablazing wrote: post #83

A key occurrence during this mishap: 0127 The Officer of the Deck ordered course to the right to course 240T, but rescinded the order within a minute. Instead, the Officer of the Deck ordered an increase to full speed and a rapid turn to the left (port). These orders were not carried out. 0129 The Bosun Mate of the Watch, a more senior supervisor on the bridge, took over the helm and executed the orders. I've witness…

I don't know which one is more bizzare here - the story itself, or the barrage of "this is due to bad UX" comments in this thread. So I guess if this warship fired all its rockets away, "due to bad UX", and destroyed a small nation, I guess the comments would also be about a bad UX. Oh crumbs, the "check status" button was so close to the "start armageddon" button. Perhaps we should submit a meek complaint to Microso…

Post by dx034 » Fri, Nov 03, 2017, 7:30 AM UTC

user5994461 wrote: post #110

nostrademons wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can imagine the requirements doc that led to that, where some Pentagon wonk was thinking "What happens if the helmsman is shot? If there's engine damage? If the helmsman is shot and there's engine damage?" and wrote all of those cases in, and completely forgot about the case where the bridge crew gets super confused because they triggered an edge case in the software and have no idea how to regain control of the sh…

Well, it's a warship. In their defense, they really have to plan for people dying and part of the ship being destroyed.

Post by raverbashing » Fri, Nov 03, 2017, 7:35 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #73

There was a ferry accident involving a similar transfer of control problem in New York harbor.[1] Ferries have a lot of maneuvering modes and directional thrusters, because they do so many dockings, and so they have a more complex control problem. The pilot put the system into a backup dumb mode while in cruise, then changed stations to where he could best see the dock while still in the wrong mode. Rammed the dock a…

Post by thomasz » Fri, Nov 03, 2017, 7:39 AM UTC

lucaspiller wrote: post #162

blknmild wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure there's a good reason for the "tradition". Similar to a group of monastic monks following some bizarre ritual which could be done in a more efficient way. Someone from westpoint or the naval academy probably knows..

I’d say it’s the same reason why manual transmission vehicles are still more popular than automatic transmission in some countries. Automatic transmission of modern cars is easier (you can give more attention to the road than having to think about changing gears), gives a smoother ride, is more fuel efficient and causes less wear and tear on the engine. It’s a habit that the organisation is used to, so there is resis…

Post by mjevans » Fri, Nov 03, 2017, 7:54 AM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #99

tlb wrote: post #3

Amazing that someone would design in multiple steering wheels, only one of which is active, and no big indicator to make it super-obvious which one it is. Also amazing that there's a mode where moving a control sometimes controls all engines, sometimes just one.

In my view, on screen UI instead of physical controls is a big factor. If the throttles had been levers it would be instantly discernable if one or both were being moved. This is also why I dislike touch screen controls in cars. I want levers and knobs that give tactile, physical feedback.