What Price Ergonomics - Article Example

Ergonomics will first entail an ergonomic assessment and not a mere design of the items. The various aspects of product design and evaluation under which ergonomists operate include design guidelines development, user requirements specifications, device prototypes’ evaluations, and implementing an analysis of the user trials. Traditionally, ergonomists greatly influenced the design characteristics of various items basing on information drawn from research findings such as human anthropometrics.

Ergonomists are currently still involved in the provision of advice for interactive devices such as WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointers). The form of advice entails the nature of the interface to be taken, how to relate the functions and the elements of the device to the user goals, prediction of the satisfaction of the user, and estimation of the device’s error potential and its time performance (Stanton & Young, 1999).In spite of ergonomic methods proliferation into teaching, research, and industrial methods, very little substantive evidence exists in support of whether the methods work.

Partly, this can be due to the fact that none is developed as researchers only base on that which they know of and understand. Therefore, to test whether the ergonomic methods work, it is essential that their validity and reliability are determined. According to this article, should the ergonomic methods be shown to be valid and reliable, then their use will be enhanced due to increased confidence in them. Furthermore, ergonomists will enhance revenue maximization to manufacturers and minimization of costs.

Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of ergonomics makes it essential in the administration of quality designs (Stanton & Young, 1999).Adhering to these arguments, the key theme according to this article is to show that despite ergonomics helping in improving the design of artifacts commonly in use by people, the methods used in their application have to be usable and useful. However, the decision to use ergonomics may entirely be that of an individual producer of a product (Salvendy, 2012).