One of the more memorable courses I’d taken in college was Engineering Psychology. The course taught engineering students to put aside their memorized formulas and understanding of logic, and to take a closer look at ourselves, each an unique individual being with different personalities and various backgrounds, and how we interact with the world.
It was interesting because it wasn’t just an engineering class, but also touched upon biology, psychology, ergonomics, and human-computer interaction (HCI). We learned about Pavlov’s experiments and research into conditioned reflexes, how the brain and nervous system work, how to best design devices for the physical human, and what things to consider when designing a computer interface for humans.
For instance, do you realize that 7 to 10 percent of the male population is red-green color blind? That statistic ought to be taken into consideration when one is designing a Website or advertisement for men. It was little things like that which I’d thought was very refreshing compared to the other courses I was taking.
Ever since then, I’ve had a new appreciation for human-centric design. I’m also grateful that working in the CTI industry allows me to think about engineering psychology issues surrounding the application of contact center technologies.
What’s the best way to order the IVR menus? What type of callers will the system primarily service? Can there be improvements upon the screen-pop display? Is the softphone user interface friendly to the users? etc.
These are just some of the questions I’ve heard from other developers. User interface experts (be it GUI, VUI, WUI, or OOIU) surely deserve much applause for their work in putting the human touch onto the systems they’re designing.
Eugene
