ISE/PSY 540 Human Factors in Systems Design

Basic concepts of human factors and their application to design of human-machine systems. Consideration of human cognitive and physical capabilities and limitations in design for performance, safety and comfort. Systems development cycle; human-machine function allocation; task and skill analysis; systems evaluation. Design of display and control systems, and complex human-machine interfaces. 3 credit hours

  
   
   
Prerequisite
  

IE 452 or PSY 340

 
Course Objectives  
  1. develop knowledge of human factors design terminology;
  2. learn models of human-machine interaction and information processing;
  3. develop an understanding of approaches to systems design and how the principles of human factors can be applied;
  4. develop a familiarity with the human factors literature;
  5. apply human factors design principles to real-world problems through exercises; and
  6. identify outcomes that can be expected from human factors in systems design.

 
Course Requirements  

HOMEWORK:

  1. Weekly Reading Assignments - You will be responsible for reading chapters of the text and assigned articles. You will be required to prepare at least one question and criticism on each article discussed in class.
  2. Article Summaries and Discussions - You will be required to prepare two-page summaries of two assigned human factors articles, and to lead one class discussion of an article you review.

EXAMINATIONS:

There will be two exams as part of the course. They will involve defining human factors terms, describing design principles, identifying the primary research results of articles covered in group discussions, and writing brief essays on how you would design complex systems.

PROJECTS/EXERCISES:

You will be required to (electronically) work with two to three other persons on two hypothetical human-factors design exercises. The exercises will involve researching human factors literature, answering questions as part of the exercise description, and producing a brief slide packet for distribution to the class.

 
Textbook  

An Introduction to Human Factors Engineering, by C.D. Wickens, J. D. Lee, Y. D. Liu & S. Gordon-Becker, S., 2nd Edition, 2004, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, Inc., ISBN: 0-13-183736-2.


Computer and Internet Requirements  

NCSU has recommended minimum specifications for computers used for classes. Depending on your computer needs, we recommend your computer meet or exceed the following minimum specifications below.

PCs must have an Intel-compatible 800 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM, 8 GB hard drive with 1 GB free space available, 256 Color Display, CD-ROM drive, 800x600 (min.) video adapter, sound card, and speakers. The operating system should be Windows 2000 or XP. Real One Player Basic (available free online) and high speed Internet connection such as cable, DSL, T1 or LAN will be required for EOL courses.

MAC users must have a G3 processor with firewire and USB factory built-in, 256 MB RAM, 10 GB with 1GB free space available, 256 Color Display, CD-ROM drive, 800x600 (min) video adapter, sound card, and speakers. The operating system must be MacOS 10.3 (minimum) along with the above RealOne and Internet specifications above .

For more detailed information on computer specifications and recommendations, please refer to our website at: http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu/currentstudents/computeraccess.htm

 

Instructor  

Dr. David B. Kaber, Professor
Co-Director of the Ergonomics Lab

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
North Carolina State University
Daniels Hall 439, Box 7906
Raleigh, NC 27695-7906

Phone: (919) 515-3086
Fax: (919) 515-5281
E-Mail: dbkaber@eos.ncsu.edu
Instructor Website: http://www.ise.ncsu.edu/kaber/index.html