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What is Human Factors?

General Description

Human Factors Engineering (HFE) is all around us! If you've ever designed, built, or engineered a product to work more efficiently with people....that's human factors! 

HFE is the study of how people interact with different elements in their environment. Whether it is studying the interaction of people-to-people, people-to-society, or people-to-technologies, human factor engineers and engineering psychologists work to understand the capabilities and limitations of human performance and apply that to technology.

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The ultimate goal of HFE?

Use their knowledge of human abilities, limitations, and behaviors to design and build products, machines, systems, and environments that are safer, more comfortable, and easier to use. Put the people and their wellbeing first so they can have a better quality of life, feel more satisfied with their experiences, and be more productive.

Discover more industry-specific definitions here

Synonyms

  • Bioengineering and Biodynamics

  • Comfort Design

  • Engineering Psychology (ENP)

  • Ergonomics 

  • Functional Design

  • Human Computer Interaction

  • Human Engineering 

  • Human Factors Engineering (HFE)

  • Interaction Design

  • Usability Engineering

  • UX/UI (User Experience and User Interface)

  • User-Friendly and User-Centered Design 

  • Etc. 

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Interdisciplinary Fields of HFE

  • Anthropometry

  • Biomechanics

  • Cognitive Brain Science (CBS)

  • Computer Science

  • Ergonomics (cognitive, organizational, physical)

  • Industrial Design

  • Mechanical Engineering

  • Physiology

  • Psychology (social, organizational, etc.)

  • Statistics

General History of HFE

As with many disciplines, Human Factors Engineering (HFE) originated out of military necessity. It first emerged during World War II when military scientists and researchers became concerned about pilot performance. Why were pilots crashing what looked to be perfectly good aircrafts? Why were they still struggling to identify targets when new advancements had been made in radar, scanning, and other detection systems? 

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At the time, engineering design was focused around "designing the human to fit the machine" aka trial and error. The assumption was that people were at fault; they needed to learn how to use tools correctly and once they did, everything would fall into place. But it soon became clear that this school of thinking had led to designs that were unsafe and difficult to operate even though they were more efficient than the past. 

And so, Human Factors Engineering arose, born from the combination of industrial engineering and experimental psychology. The first HF engineers focused primarily on military systems, working to solve problems related to system performance, workspace arrangement, time-and-motion controls, and information presentation, detection, and recognition. Early improvements were made in performance and safety, and eventually, human factor specialists began to branch out to different military and non-military fields. 

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Since the 1950s, HF engineers can be found doing work in areas such as: ​

  • Transportation Systems and Energy/Power 

    • Military and rescue transports 

    • Civilian aviation

    • Spacecrafts

    • Autonomous (Self-Driving) vehicles

    • Nuclear power 

    • Environmental Design 

  • Research, Development, and Process Improvement 

    • Consumer Products​

    • Architecture and organizational design 

    • Management

    • Marketing

    • Manufacturing

    • Automation

  • Electronics/Software/Computers ​

    • Human-Computer Interactions (Social Robotics)

    • Data Mining

    • Artificial Intelligence

    • Machine Learning

    • Process control and nuclear power

  • Medical Devices and Healthcare 

  • Education 

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