Human Factors Engineering

The scientific discipline concerned with designing systems, products, and environments to be compatible with the physical and cognitive capabilities and limitations of the people who use them. In accessibility, human factors engineering applies usability methods and techniques — originally developed for general user interface design — to ensure that products and digital interfaces work effectively for people with disabilities. As Paciello argued in 1996, designing for people with disabilities is fundamentally an extension of human factors engineering, employing the same user-centered methods used for non-disabled populations.