計 測 と制 御 第32巻 第3号 1993年3月 187

ミニ特 集 人 間 中心 の 自動 化 シ ス テ ム 説
解

Human-Centered Design: Concept and Methodology

William B. ROUSE*

Abstract
Human-centerd design is a processof assuring that the concerns,values,and perceptionsof all
stakeholdersin a design effort are consideredand balanced. Associatedwith this processare an
integratedset of concepts,principles,methods,and tools. This paper outlines the backgroundand
rationalefor human-centered design. The elementsof an overallmethodologyare described. Several
applicationsare discussedto illustratethe benefitsof the methodology.
Key Words: Design,methodology, tools,complexsystems.

are intended to employ the products of R & D in

1. Introduction
human-machine systems.
Everyone wants their products and systems to
2. The Nature of Design
be user friendly, user centered, and ergonomically
designed. Everyone wants humans to be able to To understand the human activities associated
interact with complex systems in a productive and with design, we must focus on the engineering
safe manner. Everyone endorses these goals. How- functions within industrial and governmental en-
ever, as illustrated in Fig. 1, many products and terprises responsible for developing products and
systems fall far short of achieving them. Why? systems. The necessary understanding cannot be
One answer is that concepts, principles, and me- found within aircraft cockpits or maintenance
thods for the design of human-machine systems are depots. The people that should be studied are de-
not sufficiently advanced to meet this need. This is signers and managers, not pilots and maintainers.
a partial explanation, but only a small part. The Several studies of the design of complex systems
fact is that most currently available concepts, prin- have been performed4),5). These studies utilized
ciples, and methods have relatively little impact on interviews, questionnaires, and observational meth-

product and system design. Clearly, therefore, ods involving 240 individuals, roughly half of whom
more unused results will not improve the situation. were from industry and half from government.
Thus, the question shifts to the reasons for cur- These studies resulted in the following conclusions.
rent concepts, principles, and methods not impact- Designers spend their time in both group and in-
ing design. Why don't designers of complex sys- dividual activities. For journeymen and seasoned
tems avail themselves of the wealth of knowledge designers, the time allocation is typically 30 per-

generated by human-machine systems research and cent in group activities and 70 percent in indivi-
development? The answer lies in understanding dual activities. Junior designers spend more time
the process of design as a human-machine system in group activity for the purpose of learning. Very
in itself-in other words, understanding the abili- senior designers spend more time in group activity,
ties, limitations, and preferences of those who serving as coaches and mentors.
The design group or team has several roles. The
* Search Technology
4898 South Old Peachtree Road group is usually involved with decomposing the
Atlanta, Georgia 30071, U.S.A. statement of work or other descriptions of objec-

JL 0003/93/3203-0187 (c) 1992 SICE

 188 J. SICE Vol.32 No.3 Mar. 1993

Fig. 1 Problems in Design

tives, requirements, and specifications. Based on ten chaotic world, little time is devoted to seeking
this decomposition, the group will set technical concepts, principles, and methods related to human
goals, as well as allocations of person-hours and aspects of system operations.
schedule, for members of the group. Pursuit of This situation is particularly problematic when
these technical goals is predominantly an indivi- the design effort involves automation in complex
dual activity. The group subsequently reviews the systems. Cross-disciplinary communication diffi-
results of these individual efforts. culties and time pressures often lead to technology-
Individual activities can be characterized in driven efforts. The emphasis often becomes one
terms of information seeking and the utilization of of automating everything possible within economic
information. Typically, a wide variety of infor- constraints. Whatever tasks are left for humans
mation is sought and, consequently, very little time are reconsidered and perhaps redesigned once all
and resources can be devoted to obtaining any par- the technology issues are settled. Not surprisin-
ticular element of information. The use of this in- gly, this approach often results in systems with a
formation is often time pressured. Thus, adoption variety of potential human-related problems.
of new methods and tools requires that they be This possibility raises the question of how de-
easy and quick to use. signers might proceed otherwise. In light of the
The organization, both of the company and the nature of design, as described in this section, what
marketplace, strongly affects both group and indi- can be done to assist designers to create products
vidual activities. Company policies and procedures and systems in other than a technology-driven
directly influence activities. Success criteria and manner? The remainder of this paper pursues this
reward mechanisms, both internal and external to question.
the company, affect motives and values. Corporate
3. Human-Centered Design
and market cultures influence, for example, relative
weightings on performance, cost, and quality. What designers need are methods and tools that
Thus, design involves a complex social and orga- help them succeed in complex environments such
nizational network within which designers and as described above. Recognition of this need led
managers seek information, formulate problems, to the development of a concept called human-
synthesize and integrate solutions, advocate posi- centered design1). Succinctly, human-centered
tions, and negotiate compromises, Within this of- design is a process of assuring that the concerns,
 計 測 と制 御 第32巻 第3号 1993年3月 189

values, and perceptions of all stakeholders in a

design effort are considered and balanced. Further,

primary objectives of human-centered design in-

clude enhancing stakeholders' abilities, overcom-

ing their limitations, and assuring acceptance of

resulting products and systems.

Thus, human-centered design focuses on stake-

holders, not just users. To illustrate, pilots as

users of aircraft cockpits are important stakehol-

ders. However, piliots do not build, buy, regulate,

or maintain aircraft. There are many more stake-

holders in aircraft than just pilots and the con-

cerns, values, and perceptions of all of these stake-

Fig. 3 A Framework for Design
holders should be addressed.

We have found that the seven issues listed in

Fig. 3.
Fig. 2 comprise the set of issues formed by com-
The naturalist phase involves understanding the
bining the interests of all stakeholders. Human- domains and tasks of users from the perspective of
centered design involves pursuing these issues individuals, the organization, and the environment.
starting at the top. Thus, the last concern is, The focus is on understanding the nature of viabi-
•g Does it run ?,•h while the first concern is, •gWhat lity, acceptability, and validity in the domain for
matters?•h or what constitutes benefits and costs? which the product or system is targeted. More
If each of the issues in Fig. 2 were pursued inde- specifically, the naturalist phase serves to identify
pendently, as if they were ends in themselves, the the nature of benefits and costs for all stakeholders,
costs of design would be untenable. However, each
as well as their perceptions of barriers and avenues
issue is important and should not be neglected. for change and their sense of how the validity of
What is needed, therefore, is an overall approach
potential solutions will be judged.
to design that belances the allocation of resources The marketing phase involves introducing pro-
among the issues of concern at each stage of de-
duct and system concepts to potential customers,
sign. This can be accomplished by viewing design users, and other stakeholders. Their reactions are
as a process involving the four phases shown in needed relative to viability, acceptability, and vali-
dity. This may be accomplished using questionna-
Viability•¨Are the Benefits of System Use
Sufficiently Greater than Its Costs?
ires, interviews, scenarios, prototypes and other
types of measurement instruments. In particular,
Acceptance•¨Do Organizations/Individuals Use the one wants to make measurements to determine
System? whether or not a product or system concept is per-
ceived as solving an important problem, solving it
Validation•¨Does the System Solve the Problem?
in an acceptable way, and solving it at a reasonable
cost.
Evaluation•¨Does the System Meet Requirements? The engineering phase concerns trading off con-
ceptual functionality and technological reality. As
Demonstration•¨How Do Observers React to System? indicated in Fig. 3, technology development will
usually have been pursued prior to and in parallel
Verification•¨Is the System Put Together as Planned? with the naturalist and marketing phases. In the
engineering phase, one becomes very specific about
Testing•¨Does the System Run, Compute , Etc.? how desired functionality is to be provided, what
Fig. 2 Design Issues performance is possible, and the time and dollars
 190 J. SICE Vol.32 No.3 Mar. 1993

necessary to provide it. In this process, evalua- be expanded.

tion, demonstration, verification, and testing are
4. The Human-Centered Enterprise
pursued.
In the sales and service phase, one follows the The methodology discussed in the last section
product or system into service to gain closure on provides the technical basis for human-centered de-
viability, acceptability, and validity. Implementa- sign. Also required, however, is an appropriate
tion problems are solved during this phase. Fur- managerial basis. Traditionally, the three pillars
ther, relationships are maintained and new oppor- of management are planning, organization, and
tunities recognized. This typically expedites the control. Human-centered design of management
next naturalist and marketing phases. systems must address human abilities, limitations,
Fig. 4 summarizes the activities in each phase and preferences in these three activities.
of the human-centered design process in terms of Studies of management of design in particular,
how each measurement issue is addressed. Fram- and technology-based enterprises in general, led to
ing of issues refers to defining the meaning of an the concept of human-centered planning, organi-
issue within the context of interest. Planning in- zation, and control2). More specifically, the con-
volves defining a set of tasks, measurement instru- cern was with how enterprises should be designed
ments, and analysis methods to be used with each so as to best support the enterprise's abilities
measure. Refining denotes modifications of mea- to envision, design, develop, market, and service
sures and plans as the product or system evolves
human-centered products and systems.
and intermediate measurements are made. Finally, The resulting approach to management includes
completion refers to making final measurements a variety of elements. For example, methods of
and assuring that stakeholders' expectations are
planning, organization, and control are simplified
satisfied, while also obtaining insights into what and streamlined to emphasize usability and useful-
evolutions of the product or system are most likely ness. Easy-to-use software tools help to achieve
to be valued by stakeholders. these goals. As another illustration, explicit models
The human-centered design methodology briefly of the enterprise's functioning are developed. Train-
outlined in this section potentially enables creation ing is provided to assure that these models are
of products and systems that are user friendly, user shared by all stakeholders within the enterprise.
centered, ergonomically designed, and much more. Another management concern that requires
More specifically, this methodology provides the attention is organizational change. The human-
potential for avoiding the pitfalls of the technolo- centered approach provides an important market
gy-driven approach that is common in the design orientation for enterprises. This can help them
of complex systems. However, for this potential to to prosper in the uncertain global economy.
be fully realized, the human-centered concept must However, changing perspectives on markets is not
enough. Enterprises must also change their
views of themselves. This may necessitate

gaining an understanding of the belief systems

underlying the enterprise and its relationships
with its stakeholders. Structured methods
and tools for gaining this understanding have
been developed3). These methods and tools
can be used for both understanding belief
systems and developing approaches to resolv-
ing conflicts that emerge in the process of
making the organizational changes necessary

Fig. 4 Organization of Measurement Process for creating a human-centered enterprise.

 計 測 と制 御 第32巻 第3号 1993年3月 191

The concept of a human-centered enterprise is appropriately queried, provided the information

important in that it enables, perhaps even empo- necessary to getting on track.

wers, designers to pursue human-centered design Perhaps the best example of the application of

of products and systems. Consequently, it is not a the human-centered design methodology is a family

matter of management simply allowing human- of software products called •gadvisors.•h An advisor

centered design-it is important for management is a computational framework that embodies a no-

to extol this approach. minal methodology, integrated with tutoring func-

tions arid expert advice. We have produced a fam-

5. Applications
ily of advisors for supporting human-centered de-

The human-centered design methodology dis- sign. The DFS Advisor supports the methodology

cussed in this paper has been applied to a wide described in Design for Success1). Similary, the

variety of design problems. Applications to an SFI Advisor and the CFC Advisor support the me-

intelligent cockpit, a design information system, thodologies in Strategies for Innovation2) and

and a tradeoff analysis tool are discussed in detail Catalysts for Change3), respectively.

in Ref. 1). These case studies illustrate how Conceptualization of these software products be-

planning and measurement relative to the seven gan with extensive naturalist and marketing phas-

central isuses in Fig. 1 can lead to successful es. Initial conversations with potential users and

design of complex systems. customers led to a first prototype which was

In particular, these case studies showed how in- demonstrated to a wide range of people. Their

expensive measurement efforts early in the design comments and suggestions regarding breadth and

process can provide information that enables depth of functionality, as well as appropriate

appropriate problem formulation, as well as modi- platforms, led to initial releases.

fication of the formulation as better understanding Users of demonstrations and initial purchasers

of the problem domain emerges. These case studi- were recruited to contribute to the design of pro-

es also illustrated how stakeholders, when properly duct upgrades and subsequent releases. Many very

insightful and useful ideas were obtained. To

queried, can educate designers about the difficulties,
intricacies, and subtleties of their domains. the extent possible, these suggestions were incor-

More recently, the methodology has been applied porated into the next releases. Not surprisingly,

to design of software tools, retail systems, and people were quite pleased with new releases.

passenger reservation systems. In all three of To a great extent, the human-centered design

these cases, the results of the naturalist phase were methodology provided the means whereby we

instrumental to discovering that the real needs of facilitated the process of our customers and users

stakeholders were different and broader than designing the product upgrades and extensions

originally envisioned. Consequently, the systems they wanted.

that eventually resulted were profoundly affected. These applications have taught us, as well as

These recent case studies serve to illustrate the others who employ the methodology, the impor-

very real possibility of solving a problem well, but tance of focusing on all stakeholders and assuring

solving the wrong problem. In one case, a variety that their concerns, values, and perceptions are

of factors that would substantially influence the considered and balanced. This approach has ena-

success of the product had been inadvertently bled avoiding several pitfalls. In paricular, we

ignored. In another case, the problem that was were able to identify the right problems, solve

assumed to be dominant did not exist while other, them appropriately, solve them in acceptable ways,

previously unidentified, problems did exist. In the and solve them in ways that provided substan-

third case, the problem initially identified did exist, tially more benefits than costs.

but much more important probems had gone unno-

ticed. In all three cases, the stakeholders, when
 192 J. SICE Vol.32 No.3 Mar. 1993

6. Summary
[著 者 紹 介]
Human-machine systems researchers often view
Mr. William B. ROUSE
themselves as advocates of end users-for example,
William B. Rouse is Chief Executive
aircraft pilots. They research pilots' abilities, Officer of Search Technology, a firm
limitations, and preferences and develop end user- specializing in software products,
engineering services, and contract
centered concepts, principles, and methods. Un-
R&D in decision support and training
fortunately, however, they typically ignore their systems. His responsibilities include
own customers and their own users. They con- strategic planning and new business
development. He has led the development and imple-
cern themselves little with the usefulness and usa- mentation of a wide variety of decision support systems
bility of the products of their R&D, Consequently, for operation of complex vehicle, process, and enterprise
systems; computer-based design information systems;
this R&D often fails to have an impact. However,
and computer-based systems for technical training.
by considering the nature of design, as well as the Application domains have included the aviation, marine,

nature of management, it is very much possible to process control, power systems, communications, ele-
ctronics, and computer industries.
provide concepts, principles, and methods that Rouse's technical interests are in human decision
will be embraced and subsequently, provide the marking and problem solving, human-computer interac-

intended benefits to end users. Human-centered tion, information system design, and enterprise systems.

Within these areas, he has written hundreds of techni-

design provides both the breadth and depth nec-
cal articles and reports, and has authored or edited many
essary for achieving this goal. books. Rouse was elected to the National Academy of
Engineering for •gpioneering development of models of
(Received November 13, 1992)
human-system interaction for applications in complex
References engineering systems.•h He received the Norbert Wiener

Award for •gmajor contributions to the area of man-

1) W.B. Rouse: Design for Success: A Human- machine systems, entrepreneurial leadership of an in-
Centered Approach to Designing Successful Pro- novative high technology company, and contributions
ducts and Systems, John Wiley (1991) to the Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society.•h He
2) W.B. Rouse: Strategies for Innovation: Creating was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and
Successful Products, Systems, and Organizations, Electronics Engineers for •gcontributions to understand-
John Wiley (1992) ing and modeling human decision making and problem
3) W.B. Rouse: Catalysts for Change: Concepts and solving in engineering systems•h.
Principles for Enabling Innovation, John Wiley
(1993)
4) W.B. Rouse and K.R. Boff (Eds.): System Design:
Behavioral Perspectives on Designers, Tools, and
Organizations, North Holland (1987)
5) W.B. Rouse, W.J. Cody and K.R. Boff: The Human
Factors of System Design: Understanding and
Enhancing the Role of Human Factors Engineering,
International Journal of Human Factors in Manu-
facturing, 1, 87/104 (1991)