Ergonomics

Q: What other notions are linked to ergonomics in UX?

The ergonomics of products and services is a characteristic that brings together several dimensions. It is often associated with the notions of usefulness or effectiveness (reaching the goal), usability or efficiency (the effort needed to reach the goal), or accessibility.

Q: How do you assess the ergonomics of a digital product?

You can do it using ergonomic criteria, by running an ergonomic audit. You can do it by observing how the interaction with real users unfolds. User tests then confirm or refute the importance of the points raised during the audit.

Q: Does a designer do ergonomics?

Yes. But that doesn't make them an ergonomist. Good designers are generally sensitive to what ergonomics stands for. Taking users' real capabilities into account is an absolutely necessary condition for the success of your products. At our agency, we've separated the areas of expertise to work in more depth on each aspect. Others have made different choices.

Q: What are the deliverables of ergonomics?

The ergonomic approach is a methodical process that puts people at the heart of systems. Depending on the topics, the ergonomic intervention takes various forms. The most common deliverables in ergonomics are audit reports, specification documents, or lists of recommendations.

Concept

Ergonomics for human-centred design

Ergonomics is a human sciences discipline that adapts tools, tasks and environments to human capabilities. It was first associated with the world of work before spreading to every kind of activity, including leisure.

The French tradition of ergonomics stands out for what is known as an "activity" approach. The ergonomist observes what people actually do, not what they are supposed to do. The gap between prescribed work and real work is often where the real problems hide.

The ergonomic intervention approach offers a particularly interesting framework for UX researchers. Based on the principle of investigation, it breaks down into several steps: identifying stakeholders (internal and external); listing the means, resources and constraints; observing and collecting data in the field; leading to a situated analysis from which ergonomic recommendations can be drawn.

That is exactly what UX researchers focus on in their projects.

What is ergonomics for?

working with a framework concerned with users who carry out tasks
in their interactions with the tools and systems they interact with
taking into account the overall environment in which all this takes place

Why work on ergonomics?

Taking into account the real capabilities (strengths and weaknesses) of the systems' users
Estimating the impact of a design choice on the stakeholders concerned (physical, organisational or cognitive)
Justifying design decisions with objective arguments rather than preferences

Physical ergonomics

postures, repetitive movements, MSDs, layout of workspaces.

Cognitive ergonomics

perception, memory, attention, mental load, reasoning. It's the central area of interface design. Everything to do with navigation, visual clarity and how easy your services are to get to grips with falls within this discipline.

Organisational ergonomics

processes, structures, schedules, communication. Here again, it's useful for UX because it aims to understand the context in which the interface is used, on what hardware, with what usage constraints.

Web ergonomics

covers everything to do with interaction with digital systems: ergonomics of peripherals, rules and best practices (e.g. touch target sizes of 44x44px minimum), text legibility. Everything that lets you communicate with and use a digital system falls under web ergonomics.

Ergonomics began with bodies. Its primary goal was to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among assembly-line operators, to adapt cockpits to pilots, or to calibrate lighting and sound environments in industrial settings to limit fatigue. Field work, observable and measurable.

Computerisation shifted the problem. From the 1980s onwards, the main load migrated from movement to cognition: memorising commands, navigating tree structures, processing on-screen information at a sustained pace. We moved from a physical load to a mental one. On top of the physical effects of work (painful postures, repetitive movements) came the consequences of this cognitive load: errors, abandonment, frustration. Just as costly, sometimes riskier, and harder to spot.

This shift explains why ergonomics and UX now share the same ground. Both seek to reduce the gap between what a system is supposed to allow and what users actually do with it. Ergonomics gets there from occupational psychology and cognitive science. UX from design. The methods overlap: observation, testing, activity analysis in real contexts. In short, human-centred design starts with ergonomics.

What other notions are linked to ergonomics in UX?

How do you assess the ergonomics of a digital product?

Does a designer do ergonomics?

What are the deliverables of ergonomics?

Related methods

Cognitive ergonomics

Cognitive ergonomics turns the way the brain works into design principles. Perception, memory, mental load: the foundations of UX design.

UX audit

Systematic, detailed analysis of an interface (web, mobile, business tool) against a set of criteria, used to surface friction points and produce illustrated recommendations.

Human-computer interaction

HCI (human-computer interaction) refers to the means of interaction between a human and a computer system.

Nielsen's heuristics

Nielsen's 10 heuristics let an expert evaluate an interface without users. The most widespread method for diagnosing usability.

Bastien and Scapin's criteria

Bastien and Scapin propose 8 ergonomic criteria and 18 sub-criteria. This French academic framework is more rigorous than Nielsen's heuristics.

Usability

Usability measures whether a product lets its users reach their goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction, as defined by the ISO 9241-11 standard. An essential component of UX.

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