Implications of technological changes in vehicle routing interfaces for planners’ constraint processing

Julien CEGARRA * Bernat GACIAS Pierre LOPEZ CLLE, Université de Toulouse Centre Universitaire, Place de Verdun 81012 Albi cedex 9, FRANCE [email protected] LAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche 31077 Toulouse cedex 4, FRANCE [email protected] [email protected] Abstract This study sought to assess the consequences of technological changes in vehicle routing interfaces for planners’ constraint processing during route selection. We began by developing a model of domain constraints for the generic vehicle routing problem, in order to characterize planners’ constraint processing and assess the visibility of constraints on different routing interfaces. An experiment featuring vehicle routing problems was then designed to test interfaces reflecting technological changes, including automation leading to simplified interfaces and the display of multiple routes computed by algorithms. Twelve participants who had worked for a small transport company for nine months were exposed to all these interfaces. Mental workload, performance and decision-making times were measured. Results revealed that automation decreases mental workload and decision times, attributable to the abridged (vs. unabridged) display of constraints on the interface. Results also showed that the perceptual (vs. analytical) display of routes greatly decreases decision times and enhances performances.