Human‐Centered Design Methodology as Bridge Between Academic Research and Requirements in Industry

Design Methodology provides methods and tools to assure the development of new products and services with highest quality in regard to usability, acceptance and safety. In order to make this happen it is most relevant to know about the needs and wishes of current and future users and the challenges of context variables influencing the product, the process, the economic and ecological variables. In addition to many economic criteria and best case business practices there is a “must” relate to safe and easy-to-use products. And it seems that research and practice stressing the discipline of human factors by focusing much more on safety compared to design methodology. In fact there is no commonly agreed design-for-safety methodology, however Wang and Ruxton (1998) offer a version for a design methodology of large engineering systems. Expectations and requirements in regard to safety have been defined by industry in a variety of standards and industry norms. A safe product, an easy to use product is not defined or not only defined by the respective knowledge and experience of the engineers and designers, but above all by the application and compliance with relevant standards and rules for safety, ergonomics and usability and by the acceptance of the user who buys the product (Dekker, 2006).