Ergonomics: Leadership during the Product Design Process

Abstract

On a relatively short 2-hour flight to attend focus groups for a new project, my thoughts and feelings flowed out of my mind through my fingertips into these series of chapters. I was traveling with colleagues — some new to the product design process — and the same issues between designers,1 ergonomists,2 and product planners3 and their integrated product design process appeared again, as they had in past projects. Based on experience of shipping many, many products, I had assembled these rules of thumb about cocreation between ergonomists, designers and project team during product design process. The continuous need to transfer knowledge is essential to timely success of a distinct, valuable, useful, desirable, and usable product. Likewise, sharing these ideas on design process would also create opportunity to prompt discussion among teams composed of ergonomists and designers about the design process, leadership, and vision. I trust the ideas presented forthcoming will spark some thinking on the readers' end as well.