Understand human performance
Cognition and perception, human–computer interaction and ergonomics connect the mind, the body and the design of systems.
RUUBEN BECKER · HUMAN FACTORS PSYCHOLOGY
Technology works
better when we
understand people.
The story behind my degree, and the human questions behind the systems we use.
01 / THE IDEAThe person
The person
inside the system.
I graduated from Embry-Riddle in 2011 with a B.S. in Human Factors Psychology, alongside minors in Flight Test and Simulation and Aerospace Life Sciences. The name takes a little explaining. Here is the useful version.
Imagine a screen that contains everything you need, but makes the important thing hard to find. Or two controls that look almost identical, even though pressing the wrong one matters. Those are the kinds of questions that make human factors easier to understand.
Human factors looks at the relationship between people and the things they use: tools, interfaces, procedures and the environments around them. It asks how a system can fit human abilities and limitations, rather than depending on a person to compensate for a confusing design.
Psychology provides part of that foundation. Attention, memory, perception and decision-making help explain how people take in information and act on it. Physical ergonomics adds the bodily side: bodies, movement, reach and the demands of a task.
Field background: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · International Ergonomics Association
THE PERSONNotice. Think. Act.
Abilities, experience and limits
THE INTERFACEInformation & controls
What a person sees and uses
THE SYSTEMA task in context
Tools, processes and environment
Each affects the others. This is an explanatory diagram, not a formal model.
The wider context matters too: workload, communication and organisational arrangements can shape the task. HSE describes human factors through the connected influences of the job, the individual and the organisation. Read HSE’s introduction ↗
02 / THE TRAININGA scientific
A scientific
way to ask
better questions.
The degree combines understanding people with ways to investigate, measure and evaluate design. These are areas described in the program, not a list of individual projects or electives I am claiming to have completed.
Turn questions into research
Research design and statistical analysis provide a foundation for planning studies, interpreting observations and evaluating evidence.
Evaluate the whole system
Analytic methods, test and evaluation, simulation and system design bring human performance into the development process.
Program overview: 2011–2012 catalog, pp.98–100.
03 / PUT IT INTO CONTEXT
What does that
look like in practice?
Three imagined situations. These are examples to explain the field, not projects from my résumé.
The busy display
A screen has six messages competing for attention. One needs a quick response; the others can wait.
The human question: Can someone tell what matters first, without reading everything?
A possible investigation: Compare two arrangements using the same task. Look at what people notice, how long it takes and what they miss. A brighter colour is a proposal to test, not proof of a better solution.
The awkward control
A frequently used button is easy to reach for one person, but requires another to stretch.
The human question: Does the arrangement work for the people who will actually use it?
A possible investigation: Examine reach, posture and task frequency across a range of users. Try a different position and compare the demands. The aim is to understand the mismatch, rather than assume everyone has the same body.
The look-alike buttons
Two neighbouring controls have similar labels and appearance, but produce very different results.
The human question: Is the design making an unintended selection too easy?
A possible investigation: Test clearer labels, separation or feedback. Observe whether people select the intended action and understand the result. A helpful change should be demonstrated, not simply preferred by its designer.
FROM OPINION TO EVIDENCE
“It feels better”
is a starting point.
A practical way to explain the research mindset is to turn a vague concern into a question you can investigate. This sequence is illustrative, not a mandatory method for every project.
- Define the task.What is the person trying to accomplish?
- Observe the difficulty.Where does confusion, effort or delay appear?
- Propose a change.What might address that particular problem?
- Compare and learn.What evidence would show whether it helped?
- Revise with care.What remains uncertain, and what should be tested next?
04 / TWO COMPLEMENTARY PERSPECTIVESAnd then
And then
there is flight.
Flight Test and Simulation
An interdisciplinary aviation minor connecting simulation systems and flight testing. The catalog describes a combination of required study and elective choices spanning several fields.
It places the human side of technology alongside the systems used to represent and evaluate flight.
Aerospace Life Sciences
Biological foundations with life-science applications in aviation and aerospace. It complements the degree’s focus on people with another perspective on the human being within an aviation environment.
A THREAD THROUGH MY INTERESTS
People, technology
and a world of curiosity.
Aviation and technology are already part of the world you see on this site. My education belongs in that same picture. Human factors gives a name to the meeting point between a person, a system and an experience.
That can be a useful way to look at a digital interface, a physical workspace or an aviation system. The setting changes; the question remains recognisably human: how does this work for the person using it?
This page explains my educational background. It is not a claim of clinical licensure, pilot qualification or professional engineering registration.
THE SHORT VERSION
Education,
at a glance.
- Degree
- Bachelor of Science in Human Factors Psychology
- University
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Daytona Beach, Florida - Graduated
- 2011
- Minors
- Flight Test and Simulation
Aerospace Life Sciences - Academic focus
- People and technology · Research and evaluation · Human-centred system design
There is more to my world than a degree.
Back to music, Disney & everything in between ↗