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Humanware-practical usability engineering

by Ulf-L Andersson

242 pages; Black coil; catalogue #99-0031; ISBN 1-55212-280-8; US$26.50, C$30.00, EUR22.00, £15.50

Humanware is everything which helps human beings to handle (use and look after) a product, e.g. controls and indicators, program ergonomy, location of assembly divisions in parts to be put together, signs and other markings, instructions, training and technical consultation. Against the background of how humans behave when handling a product, this book offers advice and explains principles for suitable design of humanware: how to analyse needs, design different types of humanware, and test that it works. A wide range of specific examples are described. Exercises after each chapter give readers the possibility of trying to solve humanware problems themselves. Suggested solutions are provided at the end of the book. The book is intended for practising developers, designers and technical communicators, and for students of these professions.

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About the Book Humanware is everything which helps human beings to handle (use and look after) a product, e.g. controls and indicators, program ergonomy, location of assembly divisions in parts to be put together, signs and other markings, instructions, training and technical consultation. Against the background of how humans behave when handling a product, this book offers advice and explains principles for suitable design of humanware: how to analyse needs, design different types of humanware, and test that it works. A wide range of specific examples are described. Exercises after each chapter give readers the possibility of trying to solve humanware problems themselves. Suggested solutions are provided at the end of the book. The book is intended for practising developers, designers and technical communicators, and for students of these professions. Review from Technical Communication (Journal of the Society for Technical Communication), August 2002 (p. 362): Taking a broad and practical view of usability, Ulf-L Andersson focuses on humanware, which embraces everything which communicates with the human user, e.g. instrument panels, controls, screen dialogues and the appearance of components to be assembled (even markings on components which ease disassembly and sorting for recycling). Humanware can help people to do the right things, and to avoid doing the wrong thing. (p. 5) I'm always intrigued by books that take a much broader perspective on a subject than I would have expected; Andersson's book does that. It does not focus just on software interfaces, but on a wide range of products we see and use in our lives. VCRs, control sticks, stereo equipment, furniture to be assembled, wehicles, and, of course, human-computer interfaces-they are all examined and discussed. And we are made aware of the possibilities for making this a much more usable world. Andersson takes a very human-centered approach to usability. People are always portrayed in the examples and illustrations. Objects are portrayed from the user's point of view. This is not an abstract notion of usability, but a very practical, user-centered one. A listing of the book's chapters indicates both the broad scope of the book and its human focus: 1. What is humanware? 2. Man as a design unit 3. Without memory the world would stand still 4. Interface between man and the outside world 5. We have to live with human errors 6. The human being is an integrated part of the product 7. Analyses provide a basis 8. Functional testing ensures realism 9. Designing humanware 10. Choosing a suitable structure 11. Help the memory 12. Vary signal type and emphasis 13. Reduce the amount of work 14. The human is always the measure 15. Case study: Programming a video recorder 16. Case study: Furniture kitv 17. Case sudy: Electronic car pilot The book is designed to be used by designers, developers, and technical communicatorsÐas practitioners, techers, or students. I believe it meets it goal, providing practical information built on a theoretical base and an interesting and varied set of problems with which to apply what was learned. There are suggested answers to the problems in the back of the book; they can be used as solutions or as discussion points for further exploration. Pointers to further reading include reference works, textbooks, conference proceedings, and journals. Not merely a listing of titles, the pointers describe the resources and indicate why someone might be interested in them. This book would be useful in an undergraduate or introductory graduate-level course. I provides perspective, viewpoints, and springboards for discussion. If I were to use this book, I would couple it with a text that is heavy on facts, procedures, and guidlines to complement the thought-provoking but high-level approach taken here. I would recommend this book as one that provides insight into many possibilities for considering usability and making products and documentation usable. -Roger Grice (Roger Grice is a clinical associate professor of technical communication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and directs RPI's graduate certificate program in human-computer interaction. Retired from IBM Corporation, where he eas an information developer, he is an STC fellow, a senior member of IEEE, and a member of the Usability Professionals' Association. He holds a PhD in communication and rhetoric from RPI.)

About the Author

Ulf-L Andersson has worked for 40 years as consultant and educator. He works with technical information, humanware and R&D issues within industry, research establishments and universities.

Table of Contents

1  What is humanware?     5
Humanware embraces everything in the design which makes it easier for human beings to handle the product ­ everything from aspects which make it behave in a way that humans understand, to a comprehensible instruction. If we have an overall view when developing these things we have a greater chance of achieving a satisfactory total result: a product that is easy and safe to use and look after.

2  Man as a design unit     15
Human beings form an integrated part of the product, e.g. as a user or repairer. The consideration we must give them while designing the product is dependent on people's ability to handle their surroundings.

3  Without memory the world would stand still     33
Most things which humans try to do are dependent on memory. However, immature technology makes excessive demands on the user's memory. The result is incorrect handling, which reduces the total performance of the product.

4  Interface between man and the outside world     45
It is just as important to have a good interface to the human user as to other units in a construction.

5  We have to live with human errors     57
The human is an error-prone component. This must be taken into consideration when we design them into the product. Human errors should preferably not lead to a catastrophe, and should be easy to correct.

6  The human being is an integrated part of the product     65
Offensive humanware tries to avoid problems; defensive humanware tries to solve them after they have arisen.

7  Analyses provide a basis     79
The basis for design of humanware is obtained by analysing possible situations in which the product is to be handled, what functions people must be able to fulfil and what potentials these people have for doing so.

8  Functional testing ensures realism     91
The person developing an product is unrepresentative, and can have difficulty in judging if its humanware works. If the function is tested on outsiders it is easier to identify the aspects that need to be improved.

9  Designing humanware     99
The human's task "in the product" is to perceive, decide and act. To facilitate this handling the designer has many forms of humanware to choose between, more or less integrated into the product.

10  Choosing a suitable structure     107
Good structure, for example in procedures and panels, helps the human user to know what has to be done and how to do it.

11  Help the memory     117
We can help the user's memory by designing in a way that reduces demands on the memory, by using design to help the user to remember things or by helping the user to learn things.

12  Vary signal type and emphasis     125
The signals, intentional and unintentional, which the product gives human users (e.g. acoustic, light and touch signals) can be varied in strength to make them easier to register and interpret.

13  Reduce the amount of work     131
If we overload the human user the result will be poor function. By removing functions which are not absolutely necessary, we can reduce the risk of exceeding the loading limit.

14  The human is always the measure     139
How to adapt the product to the human users' physical limitations so that they are not faced with impossible situations or subjected to wear injuries.

15  Case study: Programming a video recorder     149
How the humanware can be improved in a programmable apparatus.

16  Case study: Furniture kit     163
How the humanware can be improved in a product that has to be assembled.

17  Case study: Electronic car pilot     175
How the humanware can be designed for a product to be used in a situation which is already demanding a large part of the human user's available capacity (in this case driving a road vehicle).

18  Suggested solutions to exercises     191

19  Further reading     225

20  Alphabetical index     236

Catalogue Information