Human Factors Integration in UI and UX Design for Digital Systems

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Reduce risks and costs through human factors considerations within modern UI and UX design.
Human-centred design support helps ensure technology solutions are intuitive, error-resilient and compliant with regulatory compliance, standards and guidance factors.
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Are Your Digital Systems Creating Risk Vulnerability and Increased Costs Due to Wasted Time?

Inadequately designed User Interfaces (UI) and User Experiences (UX) create hidden risks in safety-critical and high-reliability industries. When systems are not intuitive, consistent or designed around human cognitive and physical capabilities, organisations face increased human error, safety risks, operational inefficiencies, technostress, low staff satisfaction, higher turnover, technology adoption struggles and rising training costs. There are regulatory compliance, standards and guidance factors such as BS EN ISO 11064, IEC 62682:2022 and ISO 9241-210:2019 that focus on UI and UX considerations such as ergonomic human-centred design, human-machine interface (HMI) and management of alarm systems.
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Human Error Likelihood

Users may misinterpret information, miss alarms and make input errors due to cluttered, inconsistent interfaces. Research in Reliability Engineering & System Safety suggests that time pressure in emergencies significantly degrades Situation Awareness (SA) increasing the demands on safety-critical HMIs. Reflecting this, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identify system and equipment interfaces as key Performance Influencing Factors (PIFs) emphasising that well designed alarm management systems are essential: “Optimising alarm system design is important to facilitate accurate and timely fault prompting and diagnosis to operators, and hence more effective plant management.”

Safety Risks

Inadequate UI and UX in safety-critical systems can drive decision making failures leading to incidents, regulatory action and reputational damage. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) state in Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model (NUREG-0711, Revision 3): “One important insight from studies of the Three Mile Island (TMI), Chernobyl, and other nuclear power plant (NPP) accidents is that errors resulting from human factors deficiencies, such as poor control room design, procedures, and training are a significant contributing factor to NPP incidents and accidents.”

Operational Inefficiencies

Complex navigation, unnecessary steps, poor information visibility and impractical design slow down task completion and frustrate users (adding to safety risks). The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) reported through an examination of the Deepwater Horizon rig diverter system design and the evolution of its purpose and use offshore that unrealistic expectations were placed on the crew to send well fluids overboard once they entered the riser. Research in Computer Aided Chemical Engineering suggests that designing industrial HMIs around operator cognitive behaviour improves usability. A view echoed by the HSE: “The design of control rooms, plant and equipment can have a large impact on human performance.”

Staff Requirements, Technostress and Turnover

The World Economic Forum highlights that modern roles require both technological fluency and hands-on expertise. Supporting this, research in the Information Systems Journal argues the need for well-designed systems that support users to cope with techno-stressors. A Journal of Enterprise Information Management study argues that technostress significantly impacts employees’ turnover intention.

Technology Adoption Struggles

Poorly designed systems encourage staff resistance or workarounds. This weakens returns on digital transformation, automation or new technologies. Reflecting this, the NRC warn in their Operator Workarounds (Attachment 71111.16) inspection procedure that: “Operator workarounds can impact human performance during event response, due to increasing complexity of tasks and more limiting time to perform required actions.”

High Training Costs

Unintuitive systems drive unnecessary training and competency costs that human-centred design could avoid. Good interfaces reduce the effort required for users to learn and stay competent. Research in Ergonomics in Design: The Quarterly of Human Factors Applications highlights that: “A significant cost of system operation is the training required for the end users to achieve and maintain competence. The training need is partially determined by user interface properties that make it harder or easier to learn.”

There are also regulatory compliance, standards and guidance factors that need to be considered in UI and UX design:

Regulatory Compliance

Regulators such as the COMAH Competent Authority, HSE and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA consistently emphasise the importance of ergonomics and human factors in UI and UX design.

Standards

BS EN ISO 11064, IEC 62366-1:2015, IEC 62682:2022 and ISO 9241-210:2019 are examples of standards that focus on UI and UX considerations such as ergonomic human-centred design, HMI and management of alarm systems.

Guidance

Report 454: Human factors engineering in projects developed by the Energy Institute (EI) and International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) provides guidance to help “ensure systems are designed in a way that optimises the human contribution to production, and minimises potential for design-induced risks to health, personal or process safety or environmental performance.”

IHF Human Factors Integration in UI and UX Design for Digital Systems Solution: Reduce Risks and Costs Through Human Factors Considerations Within Modern UI and UX Design

As a registered Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) consultancy, IHF supports organisations in designing new and improving existing digital systems that are intuitive, error-resilient and regulator ready. Working to recognised standards and guidance factors for UI and UX design including BS EN ISO 11064, IEC 62366-1:2015, IEC 62682:2022 and ISO 9241-210:2019. IHF are also developers of human factors digital solutions including software and the energy-efficient, lightweight, mobile and unobtrusive wrist-worn BaselineNC™ workplace fatigue monitoring wearable.
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IHF helps optimise the usability and resilience of existing control interfaces, dashboards, and operational software within real-world constraints:

Human Factors Reviews of Existing Interfaces

Identify and prioritise interface design, workflow and usability issues that drive human error, poor SA and inefficiency.

Task-Based Usability Assessments

Align system interactions with real operator tasks to expose gaps between design intent and actual use.

Cognitive Workload and Information Flow Analysis

Assess how effectively HMIs support decision-making, monitoring and error recovery in real conditions.

HMI Redesign and Optimisation

Deliver targeted interface and process improvements that optimise usability and performance without full system replacement.

Human Factors in Change Management

Embed design improvements into digital upgrades, safety cases and regulatory submissions.

For new digital systems such as next-generation control rooms, digital twins and cloud-based operational dashboards, IHF delivers end-to-end human-centred design and assurance:

Human-Centred Design Integration

Build UI and UX principles into project design, human factors integration plans and system engineering processes from the start.

User Research and Personas

Understanding real user needs, their tasks and working conditions guide design decisions.

Concept Design and Prototyping Support

Work with design and engineering teams to develop and refine mock-ups, prototypes and workflows iteratively that fit how systems are used.

Usability Testing and Validation

Test designs early and at end-stage to validate usability, efficiency and error-tolerance.

Regulatory and Standards Alignment

Ensuring designs meet relevant regulatory expectations, standards and guidance for UI and UX design for safety-critical systems (such as BS EN ISO 11064, IEC 62366-1:2015, IEC 62682:2022 and ISO 9241-210:2019)

The Benefits of IHF Human Factors Integration in UI and UX Design for Digital Systems to You, Your Workers, Your Organisation and the Public

Protect People and the Environment

Well-designed interfaces reduce the risk of accidents, incidents, injuries — emotional, mental and physical — and environmental harm. For workers and the public alike.

Regulator Ready

Meeting human factors in UI and UX design cuts down on scrutiny and helps build trust with regulators.

Increase Operational Efficiency and Reduce Potential Costs

Better SA and decision-making improves efficiency, reduces errors and training costs.

Improve Technology Adoption

Systems that feel easy and useful are far more likely to be embraced by users as highlighted in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM).

Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence (AI) Design

Designing AI around user needs builds understanding, confidence, and effective use of AI outputs according to an Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)Artificial Intelligence Review systematic literature review.

Leverage Award-Winning Human Factors Expertise

By engaging IHF to conduct your human factors integration in UI and UX design for digital systems, you are partnering with award winning human factors experts who have a continuous improvement mindset and a passion to optimise workplace safety. This is demonstrated by the recent achievement of winning the Innovation Award at the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) Awards 2024.

Latest IHF Human Factors Integration in UI and UX Design for Digital Systems News and Updates

Could the UI and UX design of your digital systems be improved with human factors integration?

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Human Factors Digital Solutions

BaselineNC™ Workplace Fatigue Monitoring Wearable
Digital Permit to Work Software (ePtW)
Incident Investigation Software (HF-AIR™)
Safety Critical Task Analysis (SCTA) Software (TASC™)