Towards viable, useful and usable human factors design guidance

Area of Science:

• Human Factors Engineering
• Information Design
• Usability Engineering

Background:

• Producing effective human factors design guidance is crucial for creating usable and useful products.
• Existing human factors handbooks may not fully meet designer needs in terms of usability, usefulness, and viability.
• The Engineering Data Compendium (EDC) serves as a case study for developing and evaluating human factors guidance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the key factors influencing the creation of effective human factors design guidance.
• To identify improvements for the usability, usefulness, and viability of human factors handbooks.
• To provide recommendations for enhancing the development and dissemination of human factors information.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a series of three exploratory experiments focused on usability, usefulness, and viability of human factors handbooks.
• Analyzed the results within the context of the Engineering Data Compendium (EDC) development process.
• Interpreted experimental findings to inform recommendations for human factors guidance.

Main Results:

• Human factors guidance needs to be context-stepped for better designer comprehension and application.
• Guidance development should be grounded in explicit requirements analysis to ensure relevance and utility.
• Designers' perceptions of information acquisition costs require calibration, and organizational policies should promote effective information seeking.

Conclusions:

• Recommendations for improving human factors design guidance include context-based organization and explicit requirements.
• Enhancing the perceived value and accessibility of human factors information is critical for its effective use.
• Organizational changes are necessary to foster better information search behaviors among designers.