Motivation: Create an annotated bibliography of Human Factors that introduces and organizes its sub-fields and seminal works.

Outline: Human Factors is a field of psychology that examines how humans interact with technology, so we organized this bibliography around the factors that affect this interaction. After a general overview of the field and its methods, we introduce psychological factors from sources both internal, in “Perceptual and Cognitive Factors,” and external, in “Organizational and Social Factors.” Next, we discuss how to apply these factors to designing systems that match the capabilities and limitations of humans both cognitively, in “Cognitive Factors in Design,” and physically, in “Physical Factors in Design.” Finally, we describe factors that affect users once they start interacting with a system in “Deployment Factors.”

Format: The bibliography is intended to help novices learn more about areas that interest them and to guide new instructors in the development of Human Factors courses. In each of the 27 units, we introduce a topic area in a succinct paragraph. Then we list a handful of readings that are accessible to novices, and we briefly describe what the reader can learn from each article.

Why this is important: Because Human Factors is a relatively new field (starting in World War II), relatively few people have any idea what it is. This lack of awareness is compounded by a lack of resources to help non-university students learn more about it. A basic level of knowledge of Human Factors, however, would be incredibly beneficial to anyone involved in designing technology or systems that include humans interacting with technology. Successful application of Human Factors principles results in more efficiency, satisfaction, and safety for users of technology. This bibliography provides a resource to help introduce these principles to people who should use them but aren’t Human Factors professionals.

Durso, F. T., Margulieux, L. E., & Blickensderfer, E. L. (2014). Human Factors, Oxford Bibliographies Online: Psychology. doi:10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0159

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