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Cross-cutting Issues:

Introduction:

Human factors can be used to enhance a number of technologies and applications. Also, issues related to the work done by other groups in this class can effect the success of human factor design. The purpose of this section is to give a brief overview of issues which apply across two or more topics discussed in the class. The areas we will concentrate on are: 1) Collaborative computing, 2) Network effects, 3) Legal issues, 4) Standards, 5) Pricing Issues.

Collaborative Computing:

Collaborative computing (CC), is an area which can benefit greatly from human factors design. The goal of CC is to create environments wherein multiple individuals or groups can collaborate on a common task. This could be through shared electronic whiteboards, teleconferencing, or collaborative CAD for design work. In the case of teleconferencing, the technology is adequate and improving and large companies are investing in the systems, but the meetings are often unnatural and uncomfortable. Many subtle cues help to structure and steer meetings; these cues are easily lost over teleconferencing equipment. Especially difficult are floor control and meeting flow. There is an excellent opportunity to improve teleconferencing through human factor analysis.

Please note that these collaborative computing considerations also cover the cross cutting issues
with Inter-organizational Design and Industrial Organizations.

Network Effects:

Human factors is on both the giving and receiving side of network effects. On the giving side, good human factor design can help to attract and keep users by reducing the entry barrier and increasing switching cost. This was the case with MS Office a few years ago. By learning Excel or Word, skills were transferable to the other which made bundled software more attractive and switching less attractive. On the receiving side, human factors design can benefit from network effects. If "everyone" is using a piece of software then this becomes it's own human factor, let me explain. To use an application a user must first learn to use the software. Human factors play a large part in reducing this barrier to entry. Another way to lower this barrier is to have ubiquitous service and instruction. If a software package is ubiquitous, then help is literally just around the corner or across the desk. Once a critical mass is reached it becomes easier for the next user to learn the application thereby reducing frustration and causing less perturbation of the human factors.

Legal Issues:

This will be an increasingly interesting area. As human factors advancements become more and more instrumental in differentiating products, there will need to be some protection for the creators. Can human factors advancements be patented? As it stands today probably not. To be patented advancements need to be explicit and quantifiable, presently human factors models are not adequate to put quantifiable values on new procedures or designs. As models mature and more thought is invested into human factors design, it is inevitable that companies and their lawyers will come up with ways to protect their investments.

Standards:

Human Factors are also on both the receiving and giving side of standards. Many standards rally around the actual best technology from the human factors perspective. Many do not and are instead set based on other factors. For instance, in the case of the GUI, the Macintosh for many years was the superior user interface, but the Windows computer became the standard. Similarly for Beta versus VHS in the world of VCR's where Beta is the superior quality tape and hence superior technology from a human factors point of view, but VHS became the standard. One thing to note is that the standards are probably quite closely tied to network effects and the already existing installed base of a given technology as standards are being set. Human Factors suitability might not be the most important factor when setting standards.

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