Presentation
From Insight to Impact: The Storytelling Side of Human Factors
SessionPoster Session 1
DescriptionHuman Factors Engineering (HFE) is often treated as a late-stage checkbox: something to be completed for compliance or validation. This presentation challenges that perception by demonstrating how HFE, when paired with storytelling techniques and applied through a mixed-methods approach, becomes a powerful force for driving empathy, influencing design decisions, and gaining alignment across cross-functional teams.
We will explore how combining qualitative and quantitative methods (such as contextual inquiry, cognitive walkthroughs, card-sorting, known use problems analysis, keystroke-level modeling, heuristic evaluations, Treejack testing, and task-based simulated use testing with metrics like SUM and SUS) can uncover deep insights into user needs, pain points, and system performance that a single method cannot. However, insights alone are often not enough. To create meaningful change, those insights must be communicated in ways that resonate emotionally and intellectually with diverse stakeholders.
This presentation introduces storytelling frameworks that help human factors professionals transform data into compelling narratives. Techniques such as the Head-Heart-Hand framework (appealing to logic, emotion, and action), the Hero’s Journey and Story Arc (framing users as protagonists navigating challenges), and the Four C’s (Context, Conflict, Conclusion, Consequence) will be discussed as tools to make findings memorable and actionable. We will also explore the use of metaphors to simplify complex usability issues and make them relatable to non-HFE audiences.
By pairing these storytelling strategies with mixed-methods data, HFE professionals can build empathy for users, highlight the real-world impact of design decisions, and motivate teams to act, even when timelines are tight or changes are difficult. Storytelling helps bridge the gap between evidence and emotion, turning usability findings into shared understanding and urgency.
Attendees will learn not only the benefits of the mixed-methods approach, but also how to craft narratives that connect the dots between user experience, business goals, and design outcomes. We will share examples of how storytelling has helped teams overcome resistance, prioritize usability improvements, and advocate for changes that might otherwise be dismissed. This approach elevates HFE from a supporting function to a strategic voice in product development: one that not only identifies problems but inspires solutions.
The key takeaway: Human Factors Engineering is a scientific discipline with the power to influence hearts and minds. When mixed methods are combined with thoughtful storytelling, HFE becomes a catalyst for empathy, alignment, and meaningful innovation in healthcare product development.
We will explore how combining qualitative and quantitative methods (such as contextual inquiry, cognitive walkthroughs, card-sorting, known use problems analysis, keystroke-level modeling, heuristic evaluations, Treejack testing, and task-based simulated use testing with metrics like SUM and SUS) can uncover deep insights into user needs, pain points, and system performance that a single method cannot. However, insights alone are often not enough. To create meaningful change, those insights must be communicated in ways that resonate emotionally and intellectually with diverse stakeholders.
This presentation introduces storytelling frameworks that help human factors professionals transform data into compelling narratives. Techniques such as the Head-Heart-Hand framework (appealing to logic, emotion, and action), the Hero’s Journey and Story Arc (framing users as protagonists navigating challenges), and the Four C’s (Context, Conflict, Conclusion, Consequence) will be discussed as tools to make findings memorable and actionable. We will also explore the use of metaphors to simplify complex usability issues and make them relatable to non-HFE audiences.
By pairing these storytelling strategies with mixed-methods data, HFE professionals can build empathy for users, highlight the real-world impact of design decisions, and motivate teams to act, even when timelines are tight or changes are difficult. Storytelling helps bridge the gap between evidence and emotion, turning usability findings into shared understanding and urgency.
Attendees will learn not only the benefits of the mixed-methods approach, but also how to craft narratives that connect the dots between user experience, business goals, and design outcomes. We will share examples of how storytelling has helped teams overcome resistance, prioritize usability improvements, and advocate for changes that might otherwise be dismissed. This approach elevates HFE from a supporting function to a strategic voice in product development: one that not only identifies problems but inspires solutions.
The key takeaway: Human Factors Engineering is a scientific discipline with the power to influence hearts and minds. When mixed methods are combined with thoughtful storytelling, HFE becomes a catalyst for empathy, alignment, and meaningful innovation in healthcare product development.
Event Type
Poster Presentation
TimeMonday, March 234:45pm - 6:15pm EDT
LocationRhinelander Gallery
Medical and Drug Delivery Devices