Linking task analysis to information relevance

The main objective of this study is to present a methodology for computing information relevance.

Relevance is a pervasive term used in several domains, such as pragmatics, information science, and psychology. Quantifying the relevance of information can be helpful in effective display design. Displays should be designed so that the more relevant information is more easily accessed.

This procedure focuses on computing the relevance of a piece of information by taking into account three aspects of tasks that use the information: the number of different tasks that make use of the information, the frequency of occurrence of those tasks, and the criticality of those tasks. The methodology can be used to compute the aggregate relevance of a piece of information for a particular component of a system or for the entire system. This methodology was illustrated using the domain of air traffic control (ATC).

In support of the validity of the methodology, we were able to confirm the value of weather information and traffic information in ATC towers.

The method can be used to derive information relevance, a characteristic of information that has implications for display design for any domain.

Designers can use information about aggregate relevance to design information displays that feature the most relevant information.