Designing for Humans (Psychology at Work)

Nature aside, the world in which we live should be designed for us, from everyday products like scissors and chairs to complex systems in avionics, medicine and nuclear power applications. Now more than ever, technological advances continue to increase the range and complexity of tasks that people have to perform. As a discipline, human factors psychology (ergonomics) therefore has an increasingly important role to play in ensuring that the human user's physical characteristics, cognitive abilities and social needs are taken into account in the development, implementation and operation of products and systems. In this book, Jan Noyes provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of human-machine interaction and the design of environments at work. Focusing on topics relevant to user-centred design, she includes coverage of the capabilities and limitations of humans, human-machine interactions, work environments, and organizational issues. Health and safety issues underpin a large amount of work on the human factors of design, and these are addressed fully throughout the book. Each chapter includes case studies that demonstrate the real-world relevance of the points being made and concludes with a list of key points. Although aimed primarily at advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in organizational and occupational psychology, this book will also be of relevance to students on engineering, computing and applied psychology/human factors programmes.

Jan Noyes is currently Graduate Dean of Science at the University of Bristol. In 1999 she was awarded the prestigious Otto Edholm medal for her contributions to applied research in ergonomics.