The Uninformativeness of Quantitative Research for Usability Focused Design of Consumer Products

Scientific journals in the area of Ergonomics/Human Factors are strongly oriented towards quantitative research. At the same time, authors are urged to discuss the practical applicability of their research, such as in terms of design recommendations. On the basis of empirical findings in several studies, the present paper demonstrates that usability focused design of consumer products is barely supported by research into human characteristics. Neither do the commonly found overall performance measures obtained in summative evaluations appear to be of any help in design. Instead, to inform design, in-depth research into actual user activities is indispensable, preferably including observations in a naturalistic environment enriched by clarification of product use from a user's perspective.