DESIGNING *for humans

Don Norman Interview on Radio Times

Don Norman was interviewed last week on Radio Times (a Philadelphia-based public radio show).  You can access the audio through the Radio Times Web site (search for "Don Norman") or via Podcast at the iTunes music store.

Standard Don Norman fare: what's wrong with products and engineers, how things are changing for the better, etc.

Patient Safety - Human Factors Journal

The latest issue of the Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society  (Volume 48, Number 1, Spring 2006), features a special section dedicated to Patient Safety.  There are ten articles covering a range of associated topics including medication labeling, information display and simulation.  Of particular note are two articles:

• "Describing Nurse's Work: Combining Quantiative and Qualitative Analysis" describes a method to study work processes combining link analysis (physical task flow) and cognitive pathways (mental task flow).
• "The Right Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers: Data Displays in Anesthesia" discusses the us of graphic displays and data visualization to improve clinical information monitoring.

Design for the Hand - Event

On Saturday May 13th the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware (about 30 minutes from Philadelphia) will host "Design for the Hand", a seminar on ergonomics and design for the hand.

According to the IDSA Philly site:

"This event features presentations by Rachel Delphia of Carnegie Mellon and Carnegie Museum; Bryce Rutter, Ph.d. of Metaphase Design; and a design charette for attendees."

The event is scheduled from 11AM-3PM and  pre-registration for IDSA members can be done through  this form.

Bad Designs

In case you're not aware, there is a web site that has been collecting examples of poor product design for years.  Here's the link to the latest example:

http://www.baddesigns.com/cheek-music.html

Stephen Wilcox gets Sirius with the Human Factors Society

The April issue of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Bulletin has a cover story interview with Stephen Wilcox.  Stephen, who is the chair of the IDSA Human Factors section, discusses the design of the user interface for Sirius radio products.

The interview can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.hfes.org/web/BulletinPdf/0406bulletin.pdf

Summer IDSA Innovation to Focus on Research

Although it's still a few months from publication, the next issue of Innovation, IDSA's journal, will feature the theme "Research & Strategies for Informing Breakthrough Design".  This issue will focus on content that is germane to the Human Factors section, including research methodologies and design tools.

I will post more information as it becomes available.

The issue is scheduled for printing on June 16th.  To see the entire 2006 Innovation editoral calendar:

http://www.idsa.org/webmodules/articles/articlefiles/Innovation_2006.pdf

"Fitting Human Factors in the Product Development Process"

An article from earlier this year by By Patricia A. Patterson and Robert A. North discusses the necessity of applying Human Factors methods in the medical device design process.  It's a nice overview of how and why Human Factors can fit within the product design and FDA processes.

The article can be viewed at the Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry (MD&DI) site:

http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/archive/06/01/007.html

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Book Review: Universal Principles of Design

Although Universal Principles of Design was published in 2003, I'm embarrassed to admit that I only learned about it recently via Amazon's related books feature.  Embarrassed, because it's simply the best book I've read on general design and usability principles in terms of both its content and its presentation.

From its lack of publicity and academic-textbook style cover, one might overlook this book or assume that its content would be dull and dry.  But open up to any part of the book and you will quickly grasp its quality.  100 diverse design principles - from human computer interaction, aviation, biology, mathematics, gestalt psychology, etc. - are each presented on their own two page spread.  The left page provides the background information and concepts, the right side provides illustrations of examples.

For example, designing for the principle of "Forgiveness" (avoidance and support for errors) includes descriptions of various design methods for forgiveness, such as reversibility of actions and warnings.  Illustrations include examples from software, road signs, and mechanical devices. This type of diversity and balance of examples from across human experiences is rare in a book - most tend to focus on a particular area, such as just software.  I found myself learning new things as well as affirming my existing knowledge from my own education and experiences. 

On a personal note the book's most enduring effect will likely be its influence on my vocabulary.  Terms such as "aesthetic-usability effect" and "cost benefit analysis" have now become part of my everyday vocabulary, whereas before I used less articulate terms to discuss these key design principles.  In fact the book itself is a fine example of the aesthetic-usability effect.

If there is a criticism of this book it may be in the choice of the 100 principles.  The authors admit that there are far more than 100, but they had to compromise for practical reasons.  Given that, I wonder why certain oddities made it in, like the "Baby-Face Bias" (characteristics assigned to certain facial characteristics). On the other hand, it is principles like that which give the book is breadth and diversity and I shouldn't expect every principle to be applicable to my own work.  Certainly the majority of principles are useful and applicable.

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