Defining Human-Centered System Issues for Verifying and Validating Air
Traffic Control Systems

Kelly Harwood and Beverly Sanford
CTA INCORPORATED, Moffett Field, CA, USA 


Abstract

This report describes the assessment of the Traffic Management Advisor
(TMA) conducted at the Denver Center and TRACON, January 11 - February 5, 1993.
The assessment addressed the effectiveness of TMA for supporting various 
traffic management activities. At the Center, traffic management 
coordinators (TMCs) shadowed traffic operations, using TMA to
make metering time and internal release decisions. At the TRACON, TMCs 
accessed TMA in an advisory mode for different planning activities such as 
staffing, distributing the traffic load, and changing the airport acceptance 
rate.  These different opportunities for assessing TMA provide insight into 
TMA as a potential communication aid and planning tool.