Ergonomics 6PS025

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Ergonomics 6PS025

• Module Leader Miles Richardson

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Submission

• To Turnitin www.submit.ac.uk
• One file only
• Filename is student number
• Class id 6454
• Password ergonomics
• Not on campus to B-Block

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Coursework Workshop

• Learning Outcomes
• Demonstrate an understanding of ergonomics
  methods and design for human use.
• Position task performance in a psychological
  context and critically evaluate the main
  psychological factors and their possible
  inter-relations.

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Ticket Machine 1000 words - 25

• Perform a Hierarchical Task Analysis of the car
  park Ticket Machine. Using the HTA as a
  framework, identify pertinent psychological
  issues related to using the ticket machine.
• Using the usability heuristics in the learning
  materials conduct a usability analysis of the
  Ticket Machine.
• Consider the usability analysis, psychological
  issues and the HTA and sketch out an improved
  ticket machine design.
• Consider the methods you would use to evaluate
  your ticket machine design if it was actually
  destined for public use.
• Produce a short report that contains your HTA,
  lists the psychological issues and usability
  problems identified and presents an improved
  ticket machine design with brief justification.

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Usability Analysis

• Expert Appraisal Cognitive Walkthrough
• Refer to TA as framework
• Checklist of usability issues (heuristics) from
  lectures.
• Predict difficulties based upon your expert
  knowledge.
• E.g. Enter Registration Operation.

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Heuristics - lots!

• Use usability heuristics presented Consistency,
  Compatibility, User Resources, Feedback, Errors,
  User Control, Visual Clarity, Prioritize,
  Appropriate use of technology, Explicitness
• And before affordances, causality, visible
  constraints, feedback, visibility, mapping,
  transfer effects, population stereotypes,
  conceptual models, Use both knowledge in the
  world head, bridge the gulfs of execution and
  evaluation
• Your knowledge of human behaviour and abilities,
  information processing etc.
• Report the most pertinent, those that explain
  problems

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Improved Design

• Consider the usability analysis, psychological
  issues and the HTA and sketch out an improved
  ticket machine design.
• Covered layout design...!

Ticket Dispenser
slot
KEYPAD
DISPLAY
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Report Format

• Introduction paragraph why and what youre
  doing etc. (with refs)
• Bullet points for HTA Operations - Entering reg.
  is not compatible with user expectationsetc.
• Summarise main issues
• Improved ticket machine design with brief
  justification.
• Evaluation methods.
• Appendices HTA, checklist, usability issues
  table

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Module Report 2500 words - 75

• Position the performance of a task of your
  choosing in a psychological context.
• Critically evaluate the main psychological issues
  and their possible inter-relations.
• Identify problem areas and propose solutions
  based on an ergonomics approach.
• Introduce possible evaluation methodologies to
  evaluate the task further.

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Examples

• Examples are available on-line
• http//ibs.derby.ac.uk/ergonomics/online/good_repo
  rt.pdf
• http//ibs.derby.ac.uk/ergonomics/online/excellent
  _report.pdf
• These are actual submissions and neither is
  perfect.
• Or examples from me.

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The Task

• Choose a task - your choice of task will affect
  all the steps.
• Good idea to choose task you know, can research
  that has issues to focus on.
• Not too big or too small define areas you are
  going to cover.
• Special populations cashpoint use for those
  with cognitive disability

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The Task

• Too big gt Hospital workers, radiology etc.,
  pilot, train driver need to define particular
  task.
• More specific - airport luggage scanning,
  specific call centre task
• Some tasks have lots of existing literature e.g.
  drug dispensing
• Others have to relate to relevant literature
  e.g. bar work
• Always base on some form of TA

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More Task Ideas

• Last year As defibrillator use by public,
  biopsy, school crossing wardens.
• Others - Self-service checkouts, treating gunshot
  wound, turning right, hydraulic hoist, embalming
  a body, call-centre work, stopping at red light
• Spinal injection, DJing, warehouse operatives,
  pilot at take-off, processing cheque payment,
  BBQ, string racket, riding a bike, blood
  transfusion.

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Ideas

• Healthcare - prescription, transfusion,
  anaesthetic, surgery
• Lots of reading - Bogner, Misadventures in Health
  Care
• Human Error X
• Google Scholar Ergonomics and terrorism
• Sport

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Examples

• Whittingham (2004). The Blame Machine.
• Beaty, D. (1995). The Naked Pilot.
• Casey, S.M. (1998). Set phasers on stun
• Human Factors journal Ergonomics in Design
• Summary of a lot of information covered in this
  module and linked to human error
• http//www.parliament.uk/post/pn156.pdf

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Problems Last Year

• Lack of framework structure Use a basic TA
• Task too general
• Lack of literature widen search

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The Users

• Consider who does the task background, type of
  people this informs the issues.
• General public huge range of psychological
  characteristics.
• Special populations
• E.g. elderly age related cognitive changes.

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Silver Surfer p26

• User chars. - age related cognitive changes
• Slower task performance
• Deterioration in attention, STM, information
  processing etc.
• Slower but more meticulous so no increase in
  errors

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Task Analysis - Micro

• Specify aspects of task you are covering and give
  some background(SS,p24)
• Analyse the task, break it up into
  steps/components
• No need for full HTA, but you might find one
  useful.
• A guiding framework for examination of tasks.

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Conducting HTA

• Collect data - observation, documentation etc.
• State overall goal
• State subordinate operations plan.
• Redescribe
• Check and revise
• See relevant lecture notes.

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Application of HTA

• Use HTA to identify issues and place
  task/decisions/actions in a psychological context
  
• Ask questions like
• Is information provided to support operation? Are
  there any cues?
• Does it involve cognition - WM, LTM,
  decision-making?
• Helps consider relevant psychological issues,
  underlying cognition, incompatibilities

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Psychological context

• Position the performance of the task in a
  psychological context.
• Silver Surfer p25 26
• P25 - Using the internet involves perceptual
  system, cognitive systems and motor systems
• P26 Using the Internet a dynamic task
• Requires skills and training in functions such as
  searching
• Demands on short and long term memory

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Evaluate psychological factors

• Critically evaluate the main psychological
  factors and their possible inter-relations.
• From your TA or relevant research
• Cover factors that are most pertinent (i.e
  compatible personalities important for pilots,
  not canteen staff).
• Silver Surfer p25 highlights issue of
  inconsistent web pages, does not preserve
  cognitive consistency.
• Silver Surfer p26 working spatial memory
  demands

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Cognitive aspects

• Evaluate relevant cognitive aspects, such as
• information-processing
• cognitive load
• Affordances
• Mapping
• transfer effects
• conceptual models.
• Wickens Eng. Psych. Human Perf. Holland
  Human Performance or POET

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Example

• Radiology information processing
• Define task examine x-ray
• ID psychological characteristics
• Radiologist will look more closely at areas of
  x-ray most likely to contain an abnormality
• This selective attention is driven by expectancy
  or knowledge
• Top-down factors in allocation of attention
• Inter-relationships how does shift
  work/fatigue, job design affect this?

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Wider view of task

• Macro Consider the environment the task takes
  place in.
• Make a checklist of the psychosocial issues from
  lectures.

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Psychosocial

• Evaluate psychosocial issues, such as
• Job design
• Attitudes
• Group work
• Motivation
• Personality

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Tips

• Explain issues (e.g. radiologists missing
  abnormalities) by applying psychological theory.
• Dont let a particular psychological topic
  dominate DO NOT turn coursework into an essay
  on information processing, theory of planned
  behaviour etc.
• Consider the above in context of the system the
  task takes place in.

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Dont Forget Solutions

• After identifying psychological issues need
  to....
• propose effective solutions based on an
  ergonomics approach.
• What is ergonomics approach?

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Ergonomics Approach

• Fitting Task to Human
• To ensure knowledge of psychological
  characteristics is brought to bear on practical
  problems of people at work
• Change task to suit psychological characteristics

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Example Solutions

• Silver Surfer p26
• Consistent structures to facilitate user models
• Memory use recognition rather than recall
• Grouping information
• Emphasizing important information
• Providing titles, labels (cues)

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Methods

• Consider what extra information you would need to
  take this further and how you would go about
  getting it.
• Present possible evaluation methodologies of
  people
• qualitative (wider issues) v experimental
  (focussed issues)
• objective v subjective.
• Of task, observation, TA.

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Silver Surfer

• An example, but not THE answer.
• Nice introduction
• Considers who does the task
• Gives task background
• Places task in psychological context
• Highlights psychological issues
• Proposes solutions
• BUT Doesnt cover methods and not enough detail
  of the above.

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Main Report Summary 1

• Must
• Position performance of task in a psychological
  context e.g. x-ray selective attention.
• Critically evaluate (relate to relevant
  literature) main psychological issues (why miss
  abnormalities in x-ray) inter-relations
  (cognition fatigue).

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Main Report Summary 2

• Must
• Identify problem areas and propose solutions
  based on an ergonomics approach.
• Present possible evaluation methodologies.

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Main Report Summary 3

• Should
• Describe task, refer to TA and user population
• Evaluate cognitive aspects - POET
• Evaluate psychosocial issues
• Discuss possible evaluation methodologies.
• Integrate range of literature into answer

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Marking Scheme

• See previous 3 slides

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Remember...

• Well structured
• Clearly expressed
• Demonstrate understanding of area
• Referencing!