5 Myths About Human Factors Engineering

Human factors engineering is the science of designing systems, tools, and environments that optimize human performance and safety. Human factors is a marriage of psychology and engineering that ensures complex systems work for people, not against them—whether that means improving cockpit interfaces, validating operator performance through systems like our FortiFly product, or designing procedures that keep humans and machines in sync.

In this article, we'll take a closer look at five common misconceptions about human factors engineering, and why it's time to move past them.

Myth #1: Human factors engineering is just common sense

It's true that many human factors engineering recommendations might feel like common sense once you see or hear them—and that's because good design often feels intuitive when it's done right. But those insights don't necessarily come from gut instinct. Rather, they often come from research, testing, and data about how real people actually think and behave under real-world conditions.

The truth is, what seems "obvious" in hindsight isn't often obvious in the moment, especially in high-workload or time-critical environments like aviation, where even small design decisions can have major operational consequences. For example, in the 2009 Air France Flight 447 accident, pilots became disoriented after the autopilot disengaged due to faulty airspeed readings—a lesson learned that what seems "intuitive" to a designer may not be clear to an operator under pressure.

At HF Designworks, we apply structured methods, data, and testing—not "common sense"— to garner those insights before systems reach the field. Human factors engineering may look like common sense after the fact, but it's the science and data behind that sense that keeps people and operations safe.

Myth #2: Human factors engineering is just ergonomics

Ergonomics is how people physically interact with tools and environments; it is also only one piece of human factors engineering. The human factors umbrella also encompasses cognition, attention, workload, and decision-making across every phase of system use.

In aviation and defense, that means not just adjusting a seat or control layout, but ensuring the operator's mental model aligns with the system's logic. When those align, performance improves and error rates drop dramatically. As such, this alignment is at the heart of every interface and procedure we design at HF Designworks.

Myth #3: Human factors engineering only matters after something goes wrong

Although many human factors insights come from accident investigations, the greatest impact comes before system deployment. The same analyses used to understand what went wrong can be applied proactively to prevent those conditions from developing in the first place.

Embedding human factors early on in the design process helps to identify friction points, workload imbalances, and usability challenges long before they become safety hazards. Early involvement also means that data about human performance shapes system architecture, automation behavior, and interface layout, instead of being used only to explain its failures after the fact.

Human factors engineering isn't just a way to react to problems; it's a framework for anticipating them so that human capability and system capability evolve together. We view human factors as a design driver, not an after-action checkbox.

Myth #4: Human factors engineering can't be measured

Human factors engineering is increasingly data-driven. Recent advances in sensors, analytics, and human performance modeling now allow researchers to capture data that reflect how humans interact with complex systems in real time.

Through emerging systems like our FortiFly tool, real-time physiological and performance indicators can be used to quantify, rather than infer, workload and situational awareness. This approach provides a richer, more precise understanding of human performance than surveys or self-reports alone.

The result is a shift from intuition to evidence. Human factors engineering is transitioning from a largely qualitative field into one that produces quantifiable, objective data to inform safety validation, certification, and system design.

Read how this applies to regulation in our post How Workload Validation Fits Into Part 108

Myth #5: Human factors engineering is only for pilots and operators

While human factors has its roots in aviation, it applies to everyone who interacts with a system: yes, everyone, from maintainers and engineers to supervisors and end users. Every interface, procedure, or communication pathway shapes human performance.

While aviation is one of the most visible applications for human factors engineering, the same principles extend to defense, transportation, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, and beyond—any environment where human performance and system performance must work in tandem.

At HF Designworks, we bring these principles to diverse programs and industries. Designing with the full human ecosystem in mind leads to systems that not only meet technical goals but also strengthen adaptability, trust, and operational effectiveness.

The Bottom Line

Human factors engineering isn't about avoiding mistakes entirely—it's about designing systems that help people perform at their best. Technology is becoming increasingly more capable and interconnected, but the human element remains the most adaptable, insightful, and essential part of any mission.

We at HF Designworks see human factors engineering as the bridge between innovation and safety where data, design, and human judgement meet. Whether in aviation, defense, or any environment where humans and automation work side by side, keeping people at the center isn't just "common sense"—you might just say we've built a career proving that.