Ergonomics and sustainability in the design of everyday use products

The relationship between Ergonomics and Design is a key element in the sustainability project, as well as in many other areas of experimental design. In the Design for Sustainability field, Ergonomics is a strategic factor for design culture innovation, providing designers with the necessary knowledge and skills regarding human characteristics and capabilities, as well as user needs and desires during use and interaction with products in work activities and everyday life. Ergonomics is also a strategic innovative factor in design development and manufacturing processes. In fact, ergonomics provides a methodological approach in user-product interaction evaluation processes through the use of participatory design and survey methods, user trials, direct observation, savings and resource conservation, etc.On the other hand, design offers solutions able to interpret user needs and expectations, at the same time suggesting new behaviors and lifestyles.In Design for Sustainability, the ergonomic and user-centered approach contributes greatly to lifestyles and innovative use of products--making it possible to understand and interpret real people needs and expectations in their everyday actions and behavior.New consumption patterns, new awareness of lifestyles, energy source consumption, purchasing methods and consumption style etc. can be supported by design innovation, responding to expressed and unexpressed user needs. With this in mind, the ergonomic approach represents the starting point for design choices and at the same time, a tool for assessing their appropriateness and effectiveness.     

Exploring the Potential of Shadow Controls in the Evaluation of Children’s Services

This article describes and presents a framework for an under‐used evaluation technique in the context of an evaluation of a programme for disaffected young people. Shadow controls—the use of expert judgement to estimate the success of a programme—are often dismissed in research design as an unreliable form of comparison, but can be useful in situations where there is limited scope for a control group or to enhance the causal inference attributable to non‐experimental evaluations. The exercise described uses a practice tool as a structure for making predictions about the situations of the young people on the programme, assuming they do not receive an intervention. These predictions (shadow controls) are then compared to outcome data for the young people at the end of the programme. The results of the exercise provide some important messages about the programme’s effectiveness and the potential for strengthening non‐experimental evaluation methods. The article also discusses how the method can usefully inform evaluations of social programmes and encourage agency and user collaboration.     

The impact of seating and positioning on the development of repetitive strain injuries of the upper extremity in wheelchair athletes

The population of people who use wheelchairs has been increasing due to technological advances. With this increase, there has also been an increase in participation in wheelchair sports. The incidence of upper extremity injury in wheelchair users has been reported to be between 31 and 73% [2,13,23,26,29]. Wheelchair athletes may be at an increased risk for upper extremity injury due to increased upper extremity use with sport. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether proper seating and positioning have an impact on the prevention of repetitive strain injuries (RSI) of the soft tissues, including peripheral nerve entrapments and muscle injury, of the upper extremity in wheelchair athletes. A review of current research on wheelchair propulsion and RSI revealed several hazards for wheelchair athletes to develop RSI's. These include duration of impairment, muscle imbalance, awkward positioning, inadequate rest breaks, repetition of muscle use in daily activities and in sport participation, the degree of force needed for propulsion, and fatigue. Current research does not provide conclusive information on optimal seating. Suggestions of preventative measures are given including suggestions with regard to positioning in the wheelchair.     

Embedded systems engineering for products and services design

Systems engineering (SE) professionals strive to develop new techniques to enhance the value of contributions to multidisciplinary smart product design teams. Products and services designers challenge themselves to search beyond the traditional design concept of addressing the physical, social, and cognitive factors. This paper covers the application of embedded user-centered systems engineering design practices into work processes based on the ISO 13407 framework [20] to support smart systems and services design and development. As practitioners collaborate to investigate alternative smart product designs, they concentrate on creating valuable products which will enhance positive interaction. This paper capitalizes on the need to follow a user-centered SE approach to smart products design [4, 22]. Products and systems intelligence should embrace a positive approach to user-centered design while improving our understanding of usable value-adding, experience and extending our knowledge of what inspires others to design enjoyable services and products.     

Innovation in user-centered skills and performance improvement for sustainable complex service systems

In order to leverage individual and organizational learning and to remain competitive in current turbulent markets it is important for employees, managers, planners and leaders to perform at high levels over time. Employee competence and skills are extremely important matters in view of the general shortage of talent and the mobility of employees with talent. Two factors emerged to have the greatest impact on the competitiveness of complex service systems: improving managerial and employee's knowledge attainment for skills, and improving the training and development of the workforce. This paper introduces the knowledge-based user-centered service design approach for sustainable skill and performance improvement in education, design and modeling of the next generation of complex service systems. The rest of the paper cover topics in human factors and sustainable business process modeling for the service industry, and illustrates the user-centered service system development cycle with the integration of systems engineering concepts in service systems. A roadmap for designing service systems of the future is discussed. The framework introduced in this paper is based on key user-centered design principles and systems engineering applications to support service competitiveness.     

Ergonomic evaluation of a wheelchair transportation securement system

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specifies guidelines covering the securement system and environment for wheeled mobility device (WhMD) passengers on the public bus system in the United States, referred to as the wheelchair tiedown and occupant restraint system (WTORS). The misuse or disuse of the WTORS system can be a source of injury for WhMD passengers riding the buses. The purpose of this study was to quantify the risks posed to the bus driver while performing the WTORS procedure using traditional ergonomic analysis methods. Four bus drivers completed the WTORS procedure for a representative passenger seated in three different WhMDs: manual wheelchair (MWC), scooter (SCTR), and power wheelchair (PWC). Potential work-related risks were identified using the four most applicable ergonomic assessment tools: PLIBEL, RULA, REBA, and iLMM. Task evaluation results revealed high levels of risk to be present to drivers during the WTORS procedure. The securement station space design and equipment layout were identified as contributing factors forcing drivers to adopt awkward postures while performing the WTORS task. These risk factors are known contributors to injury and the drivers could opt to improperly secure the passengers to avoid that risk.     

The manifestations of politics in evaluation: An exploratory study across the evaluation process

Evaluation has been described as a political act. Programs and policies are generated from a political process, and the decision to evaluate and how to use the evaluation are manifestations of the political dynamic. This exploratory study was conducted with practicing evaluators to understand what they view as political situations in the evaluation process and how they responded to these situations. Findings suggest that, in relation to the potential evaluation phases in which each respondent has been involved, evaluations are susceptible to politics when initially attempting to identify stakeholders and when it’s time to report the evaluation findings. Evaluators have also developed multiple strategies for dealing with these situations, including finding allies for the evaluation and working to explain the evaluation process and its implications. We hope that this study will help to inform novice and expert evaluators about the various political situations they may encounter in their practice.     

The amount of ergonomics and user involvement in 151 design processes

Ergonomics, usability and user-centered design are terms that are well known among designers. Yet, products often seem to fail to meet the users' needs, resulting in a gap between expected and experienced usability. To understand the possible causes of this gap the actions taken by the designer during the design process are studied in this paper. This can show whether and how certain actions influence the user-friendliness of the design products. The aim of this research was to understand whether ergonomic principles and methods are included in the design process, whether users are involved in this process and whether the experience of the designer (in ergonomics/user involvement) has an effect on the end product usability. In this study the design processes of 151 tangible products of students in design were analyzed. It showed that in 75% of the cases some ergonomic principles were applied. User involvement was performed in only 1/3 of the design cases. Hardly any correlation was found between the designers' experience in ergonomic principles and the way they applied it and no correlations were found between the designers' experience in user involvement and the users' involvement in the design process.     

Exploring functions of the lost seeking devices for people with dementia

This paper utilized a user-centered design approach as the foundation for technology in dementia care in order to improve the quality of telemedicine service. A status-quo analysis and questionnaire survey were conducted to explore the actual needs of the elders in using the lost seeking devices and the problems they encountered. In total, 37 caregivers for people with dementia were surveyed (20 female, 17 male, M = 50.08, SD = 15.47). The dementia-patients: 16 are male, 21 female (M = 72.75, SD = 10.23). Through analysis and induction, 3 problems were identified: poor information transmission, low user acceptance, individual material security anxiety. 2-4 improvement proposals are suggested for each problem. Most care-givers hope technological products would increase the efficiency and safety, but they also think it's too expensive and lack of computer skills. This result demonstrates the choice of seeking methods depends on the education level of the caregivers and most of them are elders. The concern of data leakage is also related to today's fraud issue, which may be the reason limiting the promotion of electronic products and biometrics. Further research is required, suggesting researchers should pursue improvements in lost seeking design devices in dementia for caregivers.     

From assessing needs to designing and evaluating programs: Case study of a family support program in Portugal

In the last years, researchers have been emphasizing the importance of promoting needs-led, context-specific, user-centered services in the context of child protection. However, policy-makers and service planners around the world largely depend on US-based research evidence of what is effective in the domain of family support. This work presents, in two studies, the process of design and evaluation of a targeted family support intervention that was developed and implemented in Portugal.Following the Common Language Approach to needs assessment (Dartington Social Research Unit, 2001), in study 1 we screened 100 children and their families attending a generalist child care service for risk and protective factors. Four different clusters of needs were identified. One cluster was selected as target-group for the design of a service to match their needs. Results indicated that families in this cluster had socioeconomical disadvantages, a challenging family environment and inadequate parenting practices. Children were showing signs of problematic social behaviors.In study 2 we describe the theoretical process model and the logic model for the intervention, and experimentally evaluate the program's efficacy. Results from pre–post assessments indicate improvements in the intervention group (N = 20) in several areas of parental empowerment and family relations, comparing with the control group (N = 20).This approach to need-service matching seems to be a viable pathway to design needs-led, context-specific, and user-centered services, and to assess their efficacy, thereby informing policy makers and service planners.     

An approach to design long-term monitoring and evaluation frameworks in multi-actor systems—A case in water management

Learning-by-doing and adaptive management require careful monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes of environmental policies and programs under implementation. Selecting relevant indicators is difficult, especially when monitoring over a longer period of time. Further challenges arise when policies are developed as a collaborative effort among multiple actors.This paper discusses an approach to design frameworks for long-term monitoring and evaluation in multi-actor systems. It uses Dynamic Actor Network Analysis (DANA) as an actor-sensitive method to reconstruct program theories. This is combined with elements of assumption-based planning to identify critical assumptions and associated indicators to incorporate the dynamic aspects related to long-term monitoring.An application of this approach is described for a case of water management in the Netherlands. Here, mapping multiple perspectives and identifying critical assumptions helped to broaden the scope of monitoring in important ways. Identifying associated indicators and expectations on their development in response to policy implementation proved more difficult.From this case, it can be concluded that the approach is feasible, useful, but also demanding. However, with continuing trends of networked governance and adaptive management, additional efforts to reflect these trends in monitoring and evaluation, through this and similar approaches, are needed.     

Design for reflection

Since a few years, a number of academic papers have been proposing to shift from user-centered design to human-centered (or person) design. In this contribution, we discuss as the common tread underlying these works the idea that design should also address the reflective part of our human experience, and not only aim to maximize the experiential aspects. Our review is complemented with examples derived from the internet world and from ICT consumer products. The main research areas we see as promising for the approach of "design for reflection" are: design for pauses, design for detachment, design for serendipity.     

Design for Usability; practice-oriented research for user-centered product design

The Design for Usability project aims at improving the usability of electronic professional and consumer products by creating new methodology and methods for user-centred product development, which are feasible to apply in practice. The project was focused on 5 key areas: (i) design methodology, expanding the existing approach of scenario-based design to incorporate the interaction between product design, user characteristics, and user behaviour; (ii) company processes, barriers and enablers for usability in practice; (iii) user characteristics in relation to types of products and use-situations; (iv) usability decision-making; and (v) product impact on user behaviour. The project team developed methods and techniques in each of these areas to support the design of products with a high level of usability. This paper brings together and summarizes the findings.     

Understanding the collaborative-participatory design

In this study, the role of collaboration in design is discussed, placing emphasis on how to include end-users in the development process. The study is based on a literature review focusing on aspects of collaboration in design, usability and human factors. Thereby, it introduces, compares and contrasts the characteristics of both collaborative and user-centered design perspectives, leading to the collaborative-participatory design approach. Finally, the advantages, disadvantages and precautions of implementing collaborative and participatory models are pointed out.     

An approach to design long-term monitoring and evaluation frameworks in multi-actor systems--a case in water management

Learning-by-doing and adaptive management require careful monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes of environmental policies and programs under implementation. Selecting relevant indicators is difficult, especially when monitoring over a longer period of time. Further challenges arise when policies are developed as a collaborative effort among multiple actors. This paper discusses an approach to design frameworks for long-term monitoring and evaluation in multi-actor systems. It uses Dynamic Actor Network Analysis (DANA) as an actor-sensitive method to reconstruct program theories. This is combined with elements of assumption-based planning to identify critical assumptions and associated indicators to incorporate the dynamic aspects related to long-term monitoring. An application of this approach is described for a case of water management in the Netherlands. Here, mapping multiple perspectives and identifying critical assumptions helped to broaden the scope of monitoring in important ways. Identifying associated indicators and expectations on their development in response to policy implementation proved more difficult. From this case, it can be concluded that the approach is feasible, useful, but also demanding. However, with continuing trends of networked governance and adaptive management, additional efforts to reflect these trends in monitoring and evaluation, through this and similar approaches, are needed.     

Using an action research approach to involving service users in the assessment of professional competence

This paper reports on a piece of action research that has involved people who use mental health services in systematically providing feedback from a user perspective on participants’ assessed work completed for one module of a masters’ training programme in mental health. In an attempt to improve professional practice and include people who were accessing mental health services in so doing, it outlines how users were trained to provide feedback and the training methods employed. The findings summarise the kind of issues users raised in their feedback to participants about the evidence professionals provided to demonstrate their learning from the training programme. A focus group interview with professionals provides a contrasting insight into the participants’ experience of having their work commented upon from a user perspective. The paper draws on the experience of a five-year external evaluation of an interdisciplinary programme in community mental health at Birmingham University in the UK which has highlighted the involvement of people who use mental health services as a particular innovation in the design, delivery and evaluation of the curriculum.     

Disabling Homes: a study of the housing needs of disabled people in Cornwall

This research was carried out between January and July 1993. The study was an evaluation of housing need of disabled people who were wheelchair users through a process of consumer consultation. It was concerned to find out the extent and nature of that need whilst also testing out consultation through the use of research methods in comparison with a non-consultative approach taken by the local authorities. The nature of need was found to be qualitatively different to that found through the study of normative needs. A significant number of disabled people were being made more dependent by their housing and this was being reinforced by the agencies that were intended to help them. In particular, the failure to consult disabled people was leading the local authorities to make inappropriate plans for new build housing while the major need for adaptations was being undermined by their operation of the Disabled Facilities Grant. The findings support the call from other writers that the solutions to housing problems will only come through viewing disability as a civil rights issue.     

Design of an ergonomic ultrasound system: accommodation of user anthropometrics

Long-term use of medical imaging devices requires significant improvements to the user experience. One factor that impact upon such experience is whether the device is ergonomically built, ecologically designed, and leverages the current medical practice. In this research, we took a holistic and systematic approach to design an effective and biomechanically-fit ultrasound system. Research methods from behavior science (e.g., contextual inquiry, pseudo experiments) had been adopted to involve the users (sonographers) early in the design process. The end results - product design guideline for a cart type ultrasound system and control panel layout - were reviewed by the users and adjusted so that the design is within the range of an acceptable learning curve while maintaining innovativeness, a differentiated value over competitor's ultrasound devices.     

Das dicke Ende — Wenn Abschlüsse von Gruppen „misslingen“

The starting phase of groups has received a lot of attention, in theory as well as in practice of group dynamics. The end, however, symbolizing death of a group, seems to be sort of a methodological stepchild. This is no longer true for evaluation, but evaluation is something quite different from the phenomena meant here: they appear, mostly quite unexpected, at the very end of a course or training. Four difficult final situations in group dynamic laboratories are the material for analyzing the psycho- and sociodynamics of critical final situations. Help is offered for dealing with such situations. “Failure” in ending up a training group, often has to do with narcicisstic dynamics in that group with its up and down of idealizing and discounting. It also has to do with getting hooked in one of those phases that has been described as going “towards death and farewell”. It may be that these dynamics touch upon a taboo.