[ID Discuss] Interaction design == web design

[id at ourbrisbane.com]

Quoting molly wright steenson <molly at girlwonder.com>:
> It seems like you specifically are talking about human factors and HCI. 
> That's something that also touches interaction design but is not 
> specifically or necessarily interaction design. (Though maybe the folks 
> who are going to CHI next week in Vienna might feel differently, and 
> I'd love a report!)

This fascinates me.  If Human Factors isn't interaction design, then what
exactly *is* interaction design?

I've mentioned all this before on this list, but for those of you that aren't
aware, Human Factors is the study (both qualitative and quantitative) of humans
interacting with systems (where a system may be a piece of technology, other
humans, an environment, or a combination of these), and the application of this
knowledge to the subsequent design or re-design of said systems to ensure that
they are safe, effective, efficient and satisfying to use.  It draws upon the
disciplines of computer science, engineering, anthropology, cognitive
psychology, applied physiology, sociology, anthropometry, statistics, industrial
design, and environmental medicine. 

Chapanis (1985) defined Human Factors as follows:
"Human factors discovers and applies information about human behavior,
abilities, limitations, and other characteristics to the design of tools,
machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for productive, safe,
comfortable, and effective human use." 

Granted, traditionally Human Factors has been used to design critical systems
such as those found in aviation, medicine, energy, mining, transport systems,
etc; but more recently (the last 20 years or so) the discipline has been
employed to design consumer systems such as OXO's "Sure Grips" range of kitchen
appliances, Nokia's "Human Technology" software and hardware, Apple Computer's
Software and Hardware, Palm's PDA, Johnson & Johnson's "Reach" toothbrushes, and
many more.

I've been under the impression that Interaction Design (like so many of the
other fields that seem to have popped up in the last 10 years) was either a
simplified subset of, or just another (more apt) name for the discipline of
Human Factors.  Any light you can shed on what Interaction Design covers that
departs from Human Factors, and how it does so would be much appreciated.

Best regards,

Ash Donaldson
"It depends."
User Experience Designer