I have worked on a very large system integrated from many parts of late, namely towed array sonar. Part of the challenge of working on a large, complex system is the lead time of individuals who will digest and synthesize all the information required to develop a working mental image of the system.
To mitigate this, I think there is potential in the concept of zoomable user interface, or ZUI. In a ZUI, details are rendered the further you zoom in. The fascinating program treesheets implements this to an extent:
Go try it out: https://strlen.com/treesheets/
This is a great program. The ability to invert a hierarchy seems particularly clever. However, the learning curve is steep and entering a state of flow, efficiently organizing your thoughts in this sandbox takes a certain something.
Another example is here: https://josephernest.github.io/bigpicture.js/index.html
This example provides more clarity on why a ZUI is useful. Because a user inspecting the high level is shielded from detail, but can traverse a structure. This is the mode of a new manager or director approaching a complex product. They don’t need -all- the details, in fact many discussions end up taking longer than they need to because us bottom level engineers have something to prove and needlessly chatter about the complexities of development.
Again, try it out so you can see what I mean.
So, a ZUI is conceptually a human to information interface that can help the human navigate complexity by organizing detail hierarchically. If you are a niche developer, you would live in one small corner and live and breathe the finer details, perhaps never really grasping the function of the system as a whole. That’s okay too, in fact most complex systems should nominally remove the need for someone to understand the whole thing through strict partitioning and interface design.
Take it to the next level, and perhaps one could have a ZUI in VR and swipe around a design like Tony Stark.
Serial Engineering 