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Updated: Sept 16
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NewsletterUpdated: Sept 16 |
| September '99 | Volume 34 Number 6 |
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http://www.erols.com/hfespoc |
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With the summer over, the Potomac Chapter again is starting our regularly scheduled meetings. Join us on September 22nd to hear Larry Schleifer speak on the use of rest breaks to mitigate worker complaints and increase productivity. (See the meeting notice, below, for further details.)
I cannot help but comment on an article concerning the design of products for people – what human factors is all about. The article started, "It was a conference session on designing products for people. A questioner from the audience objected that there were different kinds of people. After all, design for Europeans or Asians wouldn’t be the same as design for Americans, would it? What kind of people did the panelists have in mind? The moderator looked down at the audience. ‘What I meant was design for people, as opposed to design for, uh, llamas,’ he replied disdainfully" (Design for people – NOT by Robert W. Lucky, IEEE Spectrum, July 1999, page 20). The article went on, "Well, frankly, I’ve been wondering whom they design things for. This explains it. I envision a race of intelligent llamas that know how to work all these gadgets that defy human understanding." The bottom line of the article is that we are, as consumers, provided with products that are too complex to operate. This article, written in an electrical engineering magazine of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) shows that the engineers who design things are finally realizing that good design is important. Now it is up to us to help them make that realization become fact.
Jack Laveson
Meeting Date: Wednesday, September 22, 1999
5:30-6:30 Executive Council Meeting
6:30-7:00 Social Time (Cash bar)
7:00-7:45 Dinner
7:45 Presentation
Hamburger Hamlet, 1601 Crystal Drive (in the Underground – 1601 Crystal Square Arcade), Crystal City, VA, (703) 413-0422
Larry Schleifer
"A Field Evaluation of Supplemental Rest Breaks, Musculoskeletal Complaints, and Productivity Among Data Transcribers"
$10.00 members and guests (students - $5.00)
We need a head count by noon, Tuesday, September 21st. Please contact Debbie Park at UserWorks, Inc. by email at dpark@userworks.com, by phone at (301) 431-0500, or by fax at (301) 431-4834. If you respond by email or fax, you will receive a confirmation. If not, please call.
Directions:
To reach the Hamburger Hamlet take the blue or yellow line to the Crystal City Metro Stop and proceed straight up the escalators to the Crystal Square Arcade. Hamburger Hamlet is located at the far right end of the arcade.
To reach the Hamburger Hamlet from the District use U.S. Route 1 South (Jefferson Davis Highway) to Crystal City. Turn left at 23rd Street, then turn left onto Crystal Drive and proceed north to restaurant (on left). A pay visitor lot is located just before the restaurant. Also, on street parking may be available.
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Note – We have a standing offer to Student Members of the Chapter: Dinner
at a monthly meeting FOR FREE if you write up a synopsis of the meeting for publication in
the Newsletter. Contact the Newsletter Editor when interested.
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A Biographical Sketch of Our September Speaker
Dr. Larry Schleifer is an Industrial Psychologist and Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) with the National Safety and Health Program, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC. Dr. Schleifer also holds an appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland College Park. Prior to moving to the Washington, D.C. area, Dr. Schleifer was a Research Psychologist for 12 years in the Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Science, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in Cincinnati, OH. At NIOSH, Dr. Schleifer conducted seminal studies on the causes, consequences, and control of ergonomic and job stress problems among computer workers. Dr. Schleifer is a recipient of NIOSH's 1995 Alice Hamilton Award for Occupational Safety and Health for co-authoring the paper, "Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Visual Display Terminal Users in a Telecommunications Company." Dr. Schleifer has twenty years of professional experience as a leading international authority on stress and ergonomic problems in the computerized office. He has published numerous papers and book chapters and has lectured extensively on stress and ergonomic problems in the United States and abroad. Dr. Schleifer completed his doctoral studies at the University of Albany in 1978.
A recurring topic of conversation at the Potomac Chapter executive council meetings is the availability of speakers and topics of interest for the monthly meetings. During several meetings one of the alternatives suggested was to tour the air traffic control (ATC) facilities in the local area. A visit to ATC facilities at Dulles airport, Baltimore-Washington International airport, or in the Leesburg area (Leesburg flight service station and Washington Center) were ruled out due to inconvenient locations for most of the membership. Since the facilities chief at National tower agreed to provide a tour of his facility on a variety of dates, arrangements were made to hold the June meeting of our chapter at Washington National Airport on the 29th of June.
A total of 14 members were able to attend, with several individuals on a wait list. We were given a tour of the new Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) and tower cab. Mr. Bill Price was an extremely informative guide and gave us a colorful insight regarding what it takes to be an air traffic controller. Bill started us off by explaining the frame of mind that is needed by controllers and what the specific responsibilities are for the various positions in this facility. He also briefly described the role of the Air Route Traffic Control Center (commonly called a "Center") and how it differs from a TRACON.
In the TRACON, we saw an example of the Traffic Situation Display used by air traffic managers as well as a close view of the radar displays used by sector controllers. Bill gave a good orientation on the local airspace and some of the skills needed by controllers to keep air traffic separated.
From the relatively dark and subdued environment of the TRACON, where the primary interactions are between seated controllers and the voices of pilots whose aircraft are visually depicted on a radar display, we made a transition to the tower cab. The tower is a different environment and requires the controller to keep an eye on not only movements on the airport surface, but on the approach and departure paths of three intersecting runways. In this environment, controllers stand and move about the cab in a well-practiced choreography while they communicate with each other, pilots, controllers in the TRACON, and controllers in other facilities.
Judging by the extent of discussion among the members after the tour, we all gained from the experience and found it enjoyable.
Thanks to Dino Piccione for coordinating and hosting this meeting.
Don’t miss our upcoming chapter meetings (details to follow in due time):
October 27 - Jake Pauls, topic -- Safety of Stair Design
Late November or early December – Robert Sumwalt, an airline pilot and chairperson of the Air Line Pilots Associations’ HF and Ergonomics Committee.
Draft Human Factors Guidance for Medical Devices
The HF group here at the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), has written a draft guidance document: "Device Use Safety: Incorporating Human Factors in Risk Management." It can be found at
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/ under Recent CDRH Federal Register Notices.
Docket # 99D-2152
If you would like to review and comment on the draft, you can follow the instructions in the Federal Register, or comment by e-mail. Send e-mail comments to FDAdockets@oc.fda.gov. Remember to reference the docket number. Also, please cc: me!
You are encouraged to notify any colleagues that you feel might be interested in reviewing this draft document. Please understand: This is NOT intended to be a software usability guidance document. The guidance covers medical devices that involve users. SOME medical devices have computer system-like interfaces, but many do not. Also, the guidance focuses on questions of safety and effectiveness of device use rather than user preference and ease of use (not that these things are seen as mutually exclusive).
Also, I know there are some things about the website(s) that are less than optimal. If you feel that you must comment on the usability of the website(s) please do so, but send those comments to me only (not to"dockets").
Thank you, I hope to hear from you.
Ron Kaye
Human Factors Group
Food and Drug Administration
CDRH/OHIP/DUPSA
Swezey Elected President of APA Division of Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology
Bob Swezey, a long-time member of the Potomac Chapter, was recently elected President of the American Psychological Association's Division of Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology. His term will occur during the millennium year 2000-2001. Dr. Swezey is President of InterScience America, Inc., a research and consulting firm located in Leesburg, VA.
Bogner Profiled in Psychological Science Agenda
Sue Bogner reviews her career in an article entitled, "An Interesting Career in Psychology -- Medical Error," in the May/June, 1999 issue of the Psychological Science Agenda. Sue traces her path from her research roots at the University of Kansas, to the Army Research Institute, to the Food and Drug Administration, to her current position as President and Chief Scientist of the Institute for the Study of Medical Error in Bethesda, MD.
Reservations Secretary Gives Birth
Congratulations to Debbie Park of UserWorks who is returning to work on Monday, September 20 after a six week "vacation" during which she gave birth. The new arrival, Anna, joins sister Caroline who is two years old. Debbie will be back in time to fulfill her much appreciated role in handling reservations for the monthly meeting, although not in time to help in getting this newsletter out (one reason for its lateness).
HCI Technologist/Developer, American Management Systems
AMS's Center for Advanced Technologies (AMSCAT) in Fairfax, VA has a new opportunity for an experienced HCI technologist with strong development and management skills in the Advanced User Interfaces Lab and the Web Interfaces Lab. Through the AMSCAT Usability Engineering (UE) Special Studies program, members of these Labs provide a full range of usability engineering services to ensure that AMS systems are usable. System designers and developers work with UE team experts who draw on backgrounds in human factors, software engineering, user interface design, Web technologies, information technologies, psychology, linguistics, biomedical engineering, usability evaluation and other relevant areas to promote usability in AMS products. This team is seeking a new member who can bridge between development and usability efforts.
Each team member spends approximately half of his or her time working with project teams and half doing research. The Internet is a focus of much of the UE team’s work. Research goals include expanding the definition of human-computer interface to include anything and everything a user experiences in accomplishing goals with a computer. Current research areas include navigation, information appliances, biometrics, special needs, and ubiquitous computing and natural language technologies. The new team member will have the opportunity to participate in driving the direction of this research into new areas.
Position Description
Requirements
For more information on AMS, please see our home page at
www.amsinc.com/amscat.
Contact : cindy_albers@amsinc.com
Usability Specialist, Computer Science Corporation
Join our growing usability team at Computer Sciences Corporation. Work on a wide variety of usability projects for diverse set of clients in both government and commercial work environments. Work for a large leader in the information technology industry and enjoy competitive salaries and benefits. Help educate your colleagues in usability issues and processes as a member of professional organizations or improve your education with our full tuition and fee reimbursement educational benefits.
As a member of our team, you will work with CSC clients in concept formulation, user needs identification, and requirements definition for software, web sites, web applications, and integrated systems. Collaborate with other team members to design HCI and define supporting functionality. Provide heuristic evaluation of interfaces; conduct empirical usability testing. Provide usability consultation to other CSC organizations and enjoy occasional travel to both national and international locations.
You must be able to function as the sole usability specialist on a team. You should also have other skills besides usability design and evaluation; those that especially interest us include business process analysis/design, requirements analysis, system engineering, web development, programming, etc.
Office location: Rockville, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, DC). To
apply, please forward your resume to
dlevitt@csc.com or
FEDERALSECTOR@csc.com
Elizabeth Buie
Computer Sciences Corporation
15245 Shady Grove Road
Rockville, MD 20850 USA
LOCATION: Alexandria, VA, Patuxent River, MD
SALARY: Negotiated based on qualifications and experience.
REQUIREMENTS/QUALIFICATIONS: Advanced degree in Human Factors or related area, with at least 8 years experience in an applied setting. Candidate must be experienced in providing Human Factors Engineering support for hardware and software systems development to achieve program objectives. Will participate in IPT environment in support of development programs. The position requires experience in the generation and execution of Human Factors Program plans, HFE test and evaluation plans, review of technical material for HFE implications, directing HFE efforts using assets that may be drawn from several organizations, participating in program and design reviews, performing HFE analyses to support the development of systems to execute an operational concept, and evaluating HFE products delivered by other organizations. Experience with the government acquisition procedures and documentation, including specifications and statements of work, and the ability to develop, review, and revise the documentation is also required. Desired experience will include (depending on job position):
The position requires working closely with the customer, operational users, maintainers, vendors, and R&D organizations.
For further information contact:
John W. Ruffner, Ph.D. jruffner@dcscorp.com
Human Factors Engineer (703) 683-8430 x243
DCS Corporation
Usability Testing Specialist/Lab Coordinator, GE Information Services, Inc.
GE Information Services, Inc. is currently seeking a Usability Testing Specialist/Lab Coordinator for our Gaithersburg, Maryland usability lab. Usability testing and evaluation is an integral part of our development cycle and primary responsibilities will involve scheduling, planning, and conducting usability evaluations. Our group evaluates Windows and Internet applications such as E-commerce, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), and other GE products. Additionally, we provide usability evaluations for product documentation, on-line help, and end-user training materials using various usability testing methods and heuristic evaluations.
As the Usability Testing Specialist/Lab Coordinator, you will be responsible for:
Other Requirements:
Please contact or send resume to margaret.brown@geis.ge.com:
Margaret A. Brown
Usability Engineering Manager
GE Information Services
100 Edison Park Dr. MS 4-1B2
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
(301)340-4443 Fax(301) 340-4067
Email:margaret.brown@geis.ge.com
More Microsoft humor:
"If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon."
"If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally, your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would accept this, restart, and drive on.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart; in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought 'Car95' or 'CarNT.' Then you would have to buy more seats.
6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was more reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on five percent of the roads.
7. The oil, water, temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single 'general car fault' warning light.
8. New seats would force everyone to have the same butt size.
9. The airbag system would say 'Are you sure?' before going off.
10. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50 per cent or more.
12. Every time GM introduced a new model, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
13. You'd press the 'Start' button to shut off the engine.
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Recent Meetings:
January, 1999 February, 1999 March, 1999 April, 1999 |
May, 1999 June 29, 1999
Coming Attractions: September 22, 1999 October 27, 1999 Nov/Dec, 1999 |
