Error-proofing the design process to prevent design-induced errors in safety-critical situations

Design-induced errors all too often result in accidents and disasters in safety critical systems. Examples of design-induced error will be taken from company investigations and government enquiries reporting the part design process errors play in the events, many of which have caused death and/or injury. Aims: The study investigates the link between design-induced error and design process error. Current thinking on strategies to reduce the incidence of design processerrors including participative design will be considered. Methods: The concern with design process error and its link to design-induced error is being studied in a three-part research program incorporating online surveys, interviews and data mining. The surveys and interviews involve two groups. The first group includes network controllers, control room support staff and professional helpers, such as change agents, trainers and human factors practitioners. The second group includes designers, developers, testers and others involved in the design process of new technologies. Results and Conclusions: Preliminary results from controllers indicate a concern with the lack of participation in the design process. Designers reflect that this as one of the causes of design process error. In addition, they point to inadequate design specifications and issues with testing as other major causes of error. The end result of this study will be the production of an analytical tool that can be applied to guide the design and development of new technologies, so that design-induced and human response errors are minimised when new technologies are introduced into safety-critical situations.