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Exam 1 Notes

Human Factors Engineering And Ergonomics (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University)

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HUMAN FACTORS – EXAM 1 NOTES

WEEK 1 – HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING

Human Factors definition: the study of how humans accomplish work-related tasks in the context of
human-machine systems.

Human Factors principles & beliefs:

Things are built to serve people.
Design influences behavior & well-being
More than just checklists & guidelines
Human Factors is NOT merely common sense.

Human Factors Birthplace – WWII Aviation.

Engineering Psychology definition –

understanding human capabilities & limits,
using the methods & data from experiments, and then
applying it to the design of systems, technologies & environments.

Engineering Psychology goals: (3 things)

Improve human performance
Improve safety
Improve user satisfaction.

Iterative (repeating) Design Cycle: 3 main stages:

Understand
Create,
Evaluate (then repeat).

Sensory Processing. Human factors places emphasis on the

visual, auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive senses of the body.
(Proprioception: the ability of the body to know when to urinate, sense a stomach ache,
know the position of a limb, know the direction of gravity, etc.)

Short Term Sensory Store (STSS) – each sense automatically stores a stimulus (memory), but only
for a very brief time. (Ex. Vision – iconic memory lasts 200-300 ms; Auditory – echoic memory
lasts only 2-8 s.
STSS is interpreted based on previous experience – STSS is “top-down” processing.

Perception Encoding & Attention. Stimulus can be sensed automatically, but not always perceived.
Perception is limited by a person’s attention.

Decision making. Once stimulus is sensed, we decide how to handle it: Automatic or Controlled?
Automatic – (quick), learned reflexes from long-term memory experience.
Controlled – (slow), requires conscious thought, weigh costs/benefits,
Then,
Response Execution – once decision is made, execute a motor movement to respond.

WEEK 2 – ITERATIVE – DESIGN PROCESS & METHODOLOGIES

User-centered Design – creating a design process around the user.

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Requires: 1. Determine user needs. 2. Involving user in all design process stages.

Approaches: 3 types -

1. Take empirical measurements. (taking actual data measurements, not relying on theory).
2. Iterative design. Repeated cycles of analysis & testing, getting closer to desired result.
3. Participatory design. User gives input but does not design.

Design Teams are multidisciplinary (varying specialties), incl Eng. Psych. or HF professional.

HF Design Standards & Guidelines resources: (standards publications for reference)

MIL-STD-1472D (Military Standard – for Systems, Equipment & Facilities)

ANSI/HFES (American Nat’l Standards Institute / Human Factors & Ergonomics Society)

ISO (int’l Org for Standardization).

Product Life Cycle – 8 Stages. (NOTE: Only the Front End & Design / Testing covered in Exam 1 slides).

1. Front-end analysis (preliminary design)

2. Conceptual design.
3. Design & Testing
4. Design of Support Materials
5. System Production
6. Implementation & Evaluation
7. System Operations & Maintenance
8. System Disposal

1. Front-end Analysis – understand who the users are and their needs/demands. Elements of the
analysis include:
a. Mission Statement – The purpose & goals of the design. (ex: FAA – to provide the safest,
most efficient aerospace system in the world).
b. Mission Scenarios – description of foreseeable interactions between User & system.
c. User Analysis – Define Users (age, gender, education, abilities, physical, etc.)
Use 3-4 personas to represent the intended group.
d. Environmental Analysis – Define (in-out doors, wet, dry, cold, lighting, hi stress, etc.)
e. Function & Task Analysis – 2 parts:
i. Function - What should system do? (Ex: Watch – display time, battery, wrist, etc.
ii. Task – What user wants and is important (Ex: ATM – withdraw $, check balance).

2. Iterative Design & Test – create initial system specifications & prototype. (8 stages).
a. System specification. What is system to do? Objectives, requirements, design
constraints. (Ex. Objectives for Mp3 player – play music, rewind, random play, playlists.
Specs – large capacity battery, rugged, large screen. Constraints – less than 3 oz, cost
under $xx, smaller than 2x4 in.)
b. Function allocation. Allocate to human, machine, or both? (Ex. Smoke alarm: human -
change battery, smoke detection – machine.
c. Task and workload analysis (main). What should be done by human? When? How?
What is critical? Might need to develop an Operational Sequence Diagram (OSD) to know

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the hierarchical order of tasks that need to be done. See sample task analysis chart for
Blood Glucose Meter in Week 2 Iterative class slides.
d. Prototypes. Develop “mock-ups” for users to try out & evaluate. Mockups might be
paper, powerpoint, web-based, etc.
e. Alternatives analysis. Test alternate designs (static & dynamic). Static analysis – which
design best fits the criteria. Dynamic analysis – which design is best for human use?
f. Heuristic evaluation. Use 3-5 evaluating test subjects. Does it meet HF requirements?
g. Usability testing. Test for the 3 main HF factors: Performance, Safety, Satisfaction.

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