Human Factors in the Design of Technical Information: A Case Study

Abstract

A human factors system perspective was used to identify problems that end users have with an existing technical manual and to develop a strategy for redesigning the technical information to eliminate the problems. The use of human factors methods and techniques allowed for the consideration of the variables that affect the end product, a usable technical manual. Elements in the design and development of technical manuals that were considered included the task analysis and source data, writing process, quality assurance, and customer verification. The approach used to document problems included (1) a human factors review of the existing technical manual to identify deficiencies and (2) the collection, collation, and evaluation of inputs from the end users to determine how technicians use the existing manual and what types of technical information are needed by the user. As a result of this approach, it was recommended that the technical manual be systematically redesigned to provide a concise set of documents that could be usable by both experienced and inexperienced users. Next, a set of guidelines, based on the recommendations, was put together to provide a user oriented product. The guidelines along with constant customer-developer interaction was then used by the developer to produce a book plan describing (1) the task analytical process that will be used to insure completeness of source data, (2) the writing procedures that will be used to generate the technical information and (3) the quality assurance procedures will be used to insure the accuracy and completeness of the technical information. The results are discussed in terms of how a human factors systems approach that focuses on the needs of the end user can be applied in the design and development of technical information.