Design Error ─ A Human Factors Approach

When accidents happen, it is common to blame the end-users, the pilots, the drivers, the controllers, those who are at the front line of the operation. But accident investigators often admit that there were flaws in the design of the ICT system, engineered device, or business procedure. This book provides a research-based investigation into the design process, pointing out how and where errors creep in, and offers practical advice on strategies to remove potential hazards from design projects in the future. Real life examples are used to demonstrate the points being made.

Ronald Day is a lifelong writer, teacher, theorist, and researcher. He has taught at every level from Kindergarten to Post Graduate, and has also trained adults in industry and business settings.

Much like Dr Seuss who ‘spoke for the trees,’ he has gained a reputation for ‘speaking for the users.’ He was one of the first Human Factors professionals, constantly working to make designers and ICT developers consider the ways users would use the systems, devices or procedures they were developing. He developed some of the first user interface design specifications.

Ronald has gained degrees in education, business, computing, user interface design, and design error mitigation. He has worked in universities, government organizations, IT businesses, power production and distribution companies, and mine sites. Much of his work has been with IT and business departments within those organisations where he has worked at every level, from project manager to problem analyst, developer, tester, documenter, and trainer. In every role, he looked for the design errors, the flaws that could cause incidents, accidents, and perhaps even deaths. He worked on two fronts, one to remove faults before they became issues, and the other to ensure that those systems were built with the end-users in mind.