[Sigia-l] Human-Centered Design 99% bad

[Anne Miller]

BG: Children also use it,[the holocaust museum] to play hide-and-seek and
hopskotch. Of course, certain opinion leaders cry out how shameful this is
and that this was never intended by the artist.

AM: children's behaviour is a great eye-opener on possibilities inherent in
the environment. Children aren’t socialised to accept the 'intended'
(proper?) use as the only use. Several listers have commented about children
throwing things in frustration - Children also throw things because they
like the sound it makes or the reaction they get from others - that old game
of throw the spoon/toy/whatever on the floor so that someone will pick it up
for it to be thrown down again. 

As adults the innate capacity to see possibilities in the environment
emerges in times of need. Some years ago my husband and I went for a
week-end holiday to the snow. While we were coming home the fan belt on the
car broke. Miles from anywhere, late in the afternoon what do we do? I
happened to have a pair of pantyhose thrown in the back seat. Doubled over
and tied in a decent knot they made a fan-belt that got us the next 50
kilometres to a hotel. Designs that are rich in possibilities hold
possibilities for use in unexpected situations. Increasingly this
realisation is influencing the design of software and systems for safety
critical environments. Designs that are rich in possibilities have multiple
degrees of freedom for action. These possibilities can save lives.

A

Dr Anne Miller
Group Leader
Patient Safety Research Group
Key Centre for Human Factors
University of Queensland
Ph: 61 7 3365  4543
Email: amiller at humanfactors.uq.edu.au