Ergonomics

Draft

Definition

• “Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data, and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance (definition adopted by the International Ergonomics Association in 2000).”(Wikipedia:Ergonomics - retrieved 17:03, 9 June 2006 (MEST))

• “"Human factors" is an umbrella term for several areas of research that include human performance, technology, design, and human-computer interaction. It is a profession that focuses on how people interact with products, tools, procedures, and any processes likely to be encountered in the modern world. [...] Areas of interest for human factors practitioners may include the following: workload, fatigue, situational awareness, usability, user interface, learnability, attention, vigilance, human performance, human reliability, human-computer interaction, control and display design, stress, visualization of data, individual differences, aging, accessibility, safety, shift work, work in extreme environments including virtual environments , human error, and decision making.”

(Wikipedia:Human factors - retrieved 17:03, 9 June 2006 (MEST))

Types of ergonomics / human factors

DSchneider is not sure whether there is an universally accepted categorization of various sub-domains. Here is a flat list into which articles related to ergonomics/cognitive factors should be inserted, unless someone thinks that an overview article on ergonomics is justified:

• cognitive ergonomics
• Physical ergonomics
• usability
• Organizational ergonomics

Other related subjects

• Human-computer interaction
• Cognitive artifacts
• Cognitive tools
• Task environment
• etc.