Prospective ergonomics for the design of future things.

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics
• Innovation Studies
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Prospective Ergonomics (PE) is an emerging field focused on the proactive design of future products, services, processes, and systems.
• PE has been revitalized to enhance its scope and visibility, stimulating research, training, and professional practice in anticipatory design.
• It is positioned as an intervention mode upstream of design projects, distinct from corrective and design ergonomics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of Prospective Ergonomics (PE).
• To define PE, outlining its characteristics, origins, goals, and supporting disciplines.
• To highlight the impacts of PE on research, training, and professional practice in ergonomics.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of existing knowledge on Prospective Ergonomics.
• Analysis of PE's relationship with innovation, future-oriented cognition, and creativity.
• Positioning PE within the broader field of ergonomics alongside corrective and design ergonomics.

Main Results:

• PE is defined as an ergonomic intervention mode focused on anticipating future user needs and creating future artifacts.
• It is supported by Ergonomics, Prospective, Future-Oriented Cognition, and Creativity.
• PE principles include being human-centered, future-oriented, and focused on creativity for innovation.

Conclusions:

• PE expands ergonomics beyond interaction design to include artifact creation.
• Significant impacts on ergonomic research, training (emphasizing prospective and innovation), and professional practice are identified.
• Future research directions are proposed to further develop the field of Prospective Ergonomics.