What are Human Standards?

Human Standards — also known as Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E) — is the discipline focused on designing systems that fit human capabilities and limitations: physical, cognitive, and organizational.

The term “Human Standards” emphasizes our goal: clear, actionable, machine-readable principles for building technology that truly serves people — and that AI agents can use to validate and improve interface designs.

Why “Human Standards”?

The Problem We’re Solving

Technology is built by people who deeply understand their systems but often overlook the humans who use them. The result:

Interfaces that work for experts, confuse newcomers
Features that assume perfect attention, memory, and motor control
Designs that exclude people with disabilities
Error-prone systems that blame users for predictable mistakes

Human Factors research has generated decades of evidence about human capabilities and limitations. But this knowledge is scattered across academic papers, expensive consultancies, and tribal knowledge within organizations.

Our Approach

Human Standards makes this knowledge:

Property	Traditional HF/E	Human Standards
Accessible	Academic papers, expensive training	Free, searchable documentation
Actionable	Principles and theories	Specific implementation guidance
Machine-readable	Prose descriptions	YAML validation rules, JSON tokens
Current	Published research (months/years lag)	Continuously updated
Integrated	Separate from development	MCP server for AI-assisted design

Definition

Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E) is the scientific discipline concerned with understanding interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data, and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.

— International Ergonomics Association

In simpler terms: designing things so people can use them effectively, safely, and comfortably.

Core Goals

1. Reduce Errors and Harm

Design systems that:

Prevent predictable errors before they occur
Tolerate mistakes without catastrophic consequences
Enable easy recovery when errors happen

2. Improve Performance and Efficiency

Enable people to:

Complete tasks faster and more accurately
Learn systems with minimal training
Maintain performance over extended use

3. Increase Accessibility and Inclusion

Ensure systems work for people with:

Visual differences (blindness, low vision, color blindness)
Motor differences (limited mobility, tremors, missing limbs)
Cognitive differences (attention, memory, processing speed)
Hearing differences (deafness, hearing loss)
Temporary impairments (injury, environment, situational)

4. Enhance Satisfaction and Trust

Create experiences that:

Feel natural and intuitive
Build confidence through appropriate feedback
Respect users with honest, transparent design
Support wellbeing rather than exploit vulnerabilities

The Three Domains

Physical Ergonomics

How human bodies interact with systems.

Factor	Design Consideration
Anthropometrics	Body measurements for sizing and reach
Biomechanics	Movement patterns, force requirements
Posture	Sustainable body positions
Environment	Lighting, noise, temperature
Touch	Target sizes, spacing, haptic feedback

Cognitive Ergonomics

How human minds process information and make decisions.

Factor	Design Consideration
Perception	How we see, hear, and feel interfaces
Attention	What we notice, what we miss
Memory	What we can hold in mind (7±2 chunks)
Learning	How we build mental models
Decision-making	How we choose under uncertainty
Error	Slips, mistakes, and their prevention

Organizational Ergonomics

How human systems and workflows operate.

Factor	Design Consideration
Communication	Information flow between people
Collaboration	Multi-user coordination
Teamwork	Roles, responsibilities, handoffs
Training	Skill development and maintenance
Culture	Norms, expectations, safety climate

Current Project Scope

What’s Included

This documentation currently focuses on digital interfaces:

Domain	Coverage
Web applications	Full guidance, code patterns, validation
Mobile apps	Touch targets, gestures, responsive design
Desktop software	Keyboard shortcuts, window management
Digital accessibility	WCAG 2.2 compliance, ARIA patterns
Cognitive principles	For screens and digital interaction
Input ergonomics	Keyboard, mouse, touch, stylus

What’s Coming

On the roadmap but not yet covered:

Domain	Planned Coverage
Voice interfaces	Conversational design, speech recognition
VR/AR	Spatial computing, immersive UX
AI systems	Human-AI interaction, explainability
IoT/Ambient	Smart environments, multimodal
Wearables	Body-worn devices, health tech
Automotive HMI	In-vehicle interfaces, driving context
Physical products	Industrial design ergonomics

See Scope & Roadmap for expansion plans.

How Human Standards Work

1. Principles

Foundational concepts from human factors research, expressed as clear guidelines:

Miller’s Law: People can hold approximately 7±2 chunks of information in working memory. Keep menus, options, and steps to 7 or fewer items where possible.

2. Specifications

Concrete, measurable requirements for implementation:

Specification	Value	Source
Minimum touch target	44×44px (iOS), 48×48dp (Android)	Platform guidelines
Maximum response time	100ms for perceived instant	Nielsen research
Minimum contrast ratio	4.5:1 (AA), 7:1 (AAA)	WCAG 2.2

3. Validation Rules

Machine-readable rules that AI agents and linters can apply:

rules:
  - id: touch-target-minimum
    severity: error
    check: "Interactive elements are at least 44×44px"
    wcag: "2.5.5 AA"

  - id: contrast-ratio-text
    severity: error
    check: "Text contrast ratio is at least 4.5:1"
    wcag: "1.4.3 AA"

4. Code Patterns

Implementation examples showing how to apply principles:

/* Touch target sizing */
.button {
  min-width: 44px;
  min-height: 44px;
  padding: 12px 24px;
}

/* Safe spacing between targets */
.button + .button {
  margin-left: 8px; /* Prevent accidental activation */
}

5. Decision Logic

Pseudo-code showing when and how to apply guidelines:

FUNCTION evaluateTouchTarget(element):
  IF element.width < 44 OR element.height < 44:
    RETURN error("Touch target too small")

  IF nearbyTargets.any(distance < 8):
    RETURN warning("Targets too close together")

  RETURN pass

For Humans and AI Agents

For Human Readers

This documentation provides:

Explanations of why design decisions matter
Examples showing good and bad practices
Research citations for deeper learning
Checklists for practical implementation

For AI Agents

This documentation provides:

Structured data (tables, YAML) for parsing
Validation rules for automated checking
Decision logic for design recommendations
Specifications for code generation
MCP server integration for real-time guidance

Relationship to Other Disciplines

User Experience (UX) Design

Human Standards provides the evidence base for UX design:

UX designers create specific designs
Human Standards ensures those designs fit human capabilities

Accessibility is a subset of Human Standards:

All accessibility is human factors
Not all human factors is accessibility

Usability

Usability is one measure of success:

Human Standards addresses effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction
Plus safety, wellbeing, and inclusion

Ergonomics

Ergonomics and Human Factors are largely synonymous:

“Ergonomics” emphasizes physical factors (common in Europe)
“Human Factors” emphasizes cognitive factors (common in US)
Both terms describe the same discipline

Key Outputs

Output Type	Description	Example
Principles	Foundational concepts	”Recognition over recall”
Guidelines	Specific recommendations	”Use 44×44px minimum targets”
Patterns	Reusable solutions	Modal dialog ARIA pattern
Tokens	Design values	Color, spacing, typography
Validation	Automated checks	Contrast ratio linter
Evaluation	Assessment methods	Usability testing protocols

References

Foundational:

Accessibility:

History:

The History of Human Factors — HFES