Human-Centred Traffic Management : Integrating Vehicle-Generated Data into Decision Support Systems for Traffic Operators

Sammanfattning

Traffic operators work in safety-critical environments characterised by time pressure, uncertainty, and heterogeneous information from multiple sources. The growing availability of vehicle-generated data can create new opportunities to improve situational awareness, but also increases cognitive load due to fragmented systems and information overload. This study explores how a human-centred decision support system can be designed to support situational awareness and decision-making in traffic control operations. A qualitative single case study was conducted at a road traffic control centre in Sweden, using a Research through Design (RtD) and Human-Centred Design (HCD) approach. Data were collected through observations, informal interviews, and a questionnaire with traffic operators, and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings show that operators must manually integrate fragmeneted information under reactive workflows, which affects decision-making and increases cognitive load. The results indicate that more data alone is insufficient; instead, information must be structured, integrated and adapted to human cognitive limitations. The study proposes design principles for future decision support systems in traffic management.