Analysis, Design and Evaluation of User-Centered Engineering Tools in Industrial Automation

This article describes an approach for applying usability engineering methods to the field of industrial system design by employing expert interviews, prototyping and usability-testing, which focuses on and implements the user's requirements.

Abstract

This article describes an approach for applying usability engineering methods to the field of industrial system design. When designing the sometimes extremely complex industrial systems, engineers design the mode of operation, the construction and all the instrumentation and control aspects of a system. By employing usability engineering methods such as expert interviews, prototyping and usability-testing, a basic concept is worked out which focuses on and implements the user's requirements. This concept is vitally necessary and must be used as the basis for subsequent industrial implementation. This article is the second part of the description of a SIEMENS research project. The first part was presented at the HCI in New Orleans in August 2001 (During, Komischke, Wittenberg 2001) and is continued here.