Human Factors Engineering, 3rd Edition

Many of the man-made products and environments of our civilization are created for use by people in their everyday lives or in carrying out their work activities. In many such instances the nature (i.e., the design features) of these products and environments directly influences the extent to which they serve their intended human use. This text deals with some of the problems and processes that are involved in man's effort to so design these products and environments that they optimally serve their intended use by human beings...This general area of human endeavor (and its various facets) has come to be known as 'human factors engineering', or simply 'human factors', 'biomechanics', 'engineering psychology', or (in most European countries) 'ergonomics'...This text is intended as a survey of human factors engineering. In line with this objective, the text deals with several of the most important aspects of human factors. In the case of each such topic it has been the intent to delineate it, to characterize its major dimensions and related concepts, and to present some of the research that is relevant to it. [From the Preface]