Kim Vicente, a professor of human factors engineering, examines how technologies that overlook human capabilities create everything from everyday annoyances to catastrophic failures. Drawing on field studies in cockpits, hospitals, control rooms and ordinary homes, he reframes problems of ‘‘human error’’ as mismatches between people and the systems they use.

Vicente presents a multi-level human-tech approach—physical, cognitive, team, organizational and political—and uses case studies to show what works and what fails. He highlights successful designs (everyday products and reporting systems that improve safety) alongside cautionary episodes in healthcare, aviation and utilities that trace problems to system design and policy choices.

Highlights

• Practical framework for human-centered design and systems thinking
• Case studies from healthcare, aviation and public utilities
• Recommendations for designers, managers and policymakers
• Knopf Canada, 2003 — Hardcover, 351 pages

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