What Is Human Factors? Definition and UX Applications

Human factors is the area of study that focuses on how humans behave and interact with technology and equipment. Think of it as a combination of engineering and psychology. Many career fields consider human factors, including user experience (UX) design. Human factors and UX design are related but slightly differ, as human factors mostly involves making sure technology is functional, while UX design is more focused on ensuring that technology is pleasing to use.

With help from the International Organization for Standardization, human factors UX design principles often include [1]:

• Physical ergonomics: This involves creating a physically comfortable product that is easy to interact with. One example would be a project to create a smartwatch that fits comfortably on a person's wrist.

• Physical characteristics: Physical characteristics and physical ergonomics go hand-in-hand. Physical characteristics is even sometimes viewed as a subset of the physical ergonomics category. One example of both principles working together would be a project that aimed to create a smartwatch that was a certain size and weight, so that it would be comfortable to wear.

• Specific operations: This involves making sure that a certain task someone performs is easy to do. For example, if you must use your finger to press a button on a smartwatch, the button must be the correct size so that you don't accidentally click something else.

• Cognitive load: Cognitive load involves the mental effort required for a person to understand and carry out a task. When designing a product, designers may think about cognitive load to determine how much a person needs to learn in order to use it.

• Controllability: Users should always be in control of any technology they use rather than feeling like the technology is controlling them. You can do this in several ways, such as adding personalization options or through operations like “pause,” “stop,” and “play.”

• Comfort and familiarity: Over time, as users become more familiar and comfortable with certain aspects of technology, they come to expect them with little to no change. Designers must be careful not to introduce too many changes at once when improving or creating a new product.

• Efficiency: Efficiency involves making tasks as quick and easy to complete as possible. For example, if a user can complete a task in three steps rather than five, a designer should strive to make that possible.

• Consistency: Consistency means that a product's design should be the same throughout the user's experience. For example, an app should look similar on a mobile device and a laptop or desktop. This principle applies to both internal and external consistency.

• Mental models: Mental models involve what a user thinks or understands to be true about a product. Designers often consider whether the user's perception of how the product works matches the actual functionality of the product.

• Error management: This involves preventing users from making critical errors. For example, an app might include an “undo” button or incorporate “Are you sure?” messaging after the user selects a command.

Related terms

• Usability 

• User journey map

• Wireframe

• User story

• Mockup

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