Reducing the 'Symmetry of Ignorance' Between Human Factors Engineers and Users

摘要

Designers can't be effective in making users' jobs easier if they lack a complete understanding of those jobs. The design of complex systems requires more knowledge than any single person possesses (Fischer, 1999). The intended users of a system understand their goals and tasks, the good and bad aspects of the current system or process, and their working environment. Designers understand general approaches for solving design problems and know principles and best practices (Ohira, Yamamoto, Takada, & Nakakoji, 1999). Rittel (1984) described this situation - in which the users and the designers of a system have different but essential knowledge - as a symmetry of ignorance. To design a system that meets user needs, designers and users must develop a shared understanding of the overall design problem. Without this shared understanding, the designers may not understand the users' goals, tasks, or environment well enough to create a usable product, and the users may not understand the technology or design process well enough to be truly helpful to the designers (Williams & Begg, 1993).