Prospective Ergonomics

Preface

My motivation to write this book on strategic design and prospective ergonomics (PE) has been driven by more than 20 years of experiences as an educator, researcher and design practitioner.

As user needs become increasingly complex, I stress the importance of strategic management for PE and strategic design. Forces of globalization, the proliferation of multicultural societies and emphasis on user experiences have changed the ergonomic, business and design landscape. The concept of “user experience”, with respect to products and services, whether in terms of purely use, ownership or a combination of it, has become a topic of debate among designers, ergonomists, user interaction experts, business management and social science authorities.

Moreover, the significant growth of new technologies has revolutionized the way firms use these technologies both internally and externally to improve operations, increase efficiencies and provide functional benefits for customers. For example, in the service industry, providers and retailers are using a wide range of self-service technologies, including the internet, to allow customers to produce and consume services electronically without direct contact from firm employees [MEU 00]. At present and in the future, these new technologies will continue to challenge the different stakeholders, who are engaged in “innovation”; a process of transforming an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value for customers (www.businessdictionary.com ...