Human factors design – an illustration

The methodology for user-centered design could be illustrated through an example of the design of a mailing system and its set up guide, for which I was the Human Factors Engineer right from the conceptual stage. We wanted to eliminate the practice of having a service person accompany the product to the client-site for installation, which was costing the company significantly. So, for the guide, we started working from the time the machine arrives at the customer’s doorstep. Keeping in mind that the maximum tolerance limit for a person trying to set up a new product before they expect it to accomplish what they purchased it for, is about 30 minutes, we defined a target of 20-25 minutes setup time with no more than one error. The guide started out as a totally pictorial version, yet at first try it took an average consumer 40 minutes to set it up. So we redesigned it on the basis of observation, identification of problem areas and by taking to the assorted participant group we had invited over to ultimatelyachieve our set target of 20 minutes. Not only was the goal of an unaccompanied installation accomplished without customer complaining, thus saving the corporation a substantial amount of money, but it even bagged an award from the Society of Technical Communication.