User-Centered Methods Are Insufficient for Safety Critical Systems

The traditional approaches of HCI are essential, but they are unable to cope with the complexity of typical modern interactive devices in the safety critical context of medical devices. We outline some technical approaches, based on simple and “easy to use” formal methods, to improve usability and safety, and show how they scale to typical devices. Specifically: (i) it is easy to visualize behavioral properties; (ii) it is easy to formalize and check properties rigorously; (iii) the scale of typical devices means that conventional usercentered approaches, while still necessary, are insufficient to contribute reliably to safety related interaction issues.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: USAB
• Authors: Harold W. Thimbleby
• Keywords: Modern Interactive Devices, Safety Critical Context, Typical Devices, USAB 2007, USAB 2008