Ergonomists’ and Engineers’ Views on the Utility of Virtual Human Factors Tools

A qualitative research study was conducted through explorative workshops to better understand the experiences, perceptions, needs, and expectations of the users and potential users of virtual human factors (VHF) tools. Five VHF tools were presented to ergonomists, engineers, and managers who participated in four whole‐day interactive workshops: HF enabled predetermined motion time systems (PMTS), discrete event simulation (DES), complex and simple digital human models (DHM), and virtual reality (VR). Data were collected by note‐takers, digital audio recording, and written feedback. Identified characteristics shared by the tools were organized into 9 categories that act as a motivational or deterring factor for the use of the tool: time, cost, training, difficulty of use, trustworthiness, graphics, flexibility, usefulness, and report presentation. Other tool specific areas of improvement were also identified by participants to help developers improve these design instruments.