The role of Human Factors in system development

The application of Human Factors or ergonomics principles to American system development occurs in a highly unstructured, problem-solving environment in which inputs compete with each other for acceptance. Factors determining whether human engineering inputs will be accepted include: the specification (or lack thereof) of personnel performance requirements; the advantages supplied by the human engineering recommendation; the costs involved in implementing it; the funding supplied by the customer for the new system; and his oversight of human engineering efforts. Human Factors efforts are required in at least five of the six major phases of system development: System Planning; Predesign; Detail Design; Production; Test and Evaluation; and Operations. Each phase introduces behavioural questions that must be answered if the system is to be designed properly. Each question demands specific techniques and skills of the human engineer.