Technical Team

Pete Elgin,
PhD
Lead Usability Analyst

Job at HFI

Experience

For several years Pete was involved in a line of FAA-funded research concerning modification of contemporary usability methods in order to support evaluations in non-laboratory environments, where assessments are performed typically under time stress by evaluators with limited human factors / usability training. Pete was instrumental in the development of a unique usability method that extracted components from traditional methods in order to maximize efficiency and efficacy of usability evaluations under the aforementioned conditions. Several multi-function displays from some of the largest avionics manufacturers have been evaluated using this method. Furthermore Pete authored a technical report to the FAA that provided recommendations, based on an extensive human factors literature review, to update standards and regulations for displaying graphical and text weather information in the cockpit.

Additionally Pete was co-leader of a design team that placed first in a nationwide NASA-sponsored design competition that solicited solutions to increase general aviation through development and marketing of relatively easy to operate, economically viable aircraft capable of flight in nearly all weather conditions. Pete proposed and designed low-fidelity mockups of decision-aids in order to support VFR (visual flight rules) general aviation pilots landing in low-visibility conditions by transforming highly analytical / cognitive IFR (instrument flight rules) tasks into simpler perceptual tasks, thereby capitalizing on the skills, knowledge, and experiences of the VFR-skilled pilot.

Education

Ph.D. Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Experimental Psychology (emphasis in Human Factors)

M.S. Drake University, Des Moines, IA
Psychology (emphasis in Industrial / Organizational Psychology)

B.A. Loras College, Dubuque, IA
Psychology

Favorite Projects

Projects where the challenge is to design an interface that integrates the end-users' goals, needs, etc, while at the same time considering the strategic usability goals of the stakeholders and balancing the recommendations substantiated by common usability guidelines and display design heuristics.

Areas of Interest and Design Orientation

Areas of Interest: Any system that creates confusion for the user, falls short of stakeholders' expectations, and / or violates empirically-driven design standards is of interest.

Design Orientation: empower the user.

Hobbies and Special Interests

Pete enjoys spending time with his wife, Michelle, and son, Parker. Pete likes to play golf, basketball, ultimate frisbee, and ride his bike (coincidentally everyone should experience RAGBRAI at some point!). On fall Saturdays, you'll find Pete in Kinnick Stadium cheering on the Hawkeyes. When the weather does not permit outdoor activities, Pete enjoys watching movies and playing a good board or card game with family and friends.

Favorite Food

Happy Joe's pizza (a local chain), a good microbrewery lager and a burger.

Character

Born and raised in eastern Iowa, Pete exhibits many traits common to Midwesterners: highly motivated, personable, and hard-working.

Publications and Presentations

Pete has published research that encompasses a variety of topics: decision-making, hypertext content formats, usability evaluation methods, user-centered display design, screen readers, and Web navigation.

Raddatz, K.R., Elgin, P.D., & Uhlarik, J. (2005). Validation of an objective behaviorally-based usability method for real-time assessments. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 49th Annual Meeting, 98-102.

Tran, T.Q., Elgin, P.D., Jones, K.S., Raddatz, K.R., & Cady, E.T. (2005). The influence of web writing styles on reader's mental text representations. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 49th Annual Meeting, 1841-1845.

Jones, K.S., Farris, J.S., Elgin, P.D., Anders, B.A., & Johnson, B.R. (2005). A report on a novice user's interaction with the internet through a self-voicing application. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 99(1), 40-45.

Elgin, P.D., & Thomas, R.P. (2004). An integrated decision-making model for categorizing weather products and decision aids. NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA. NASA/TM – 2004 – 212990.

Elgin, P.D., & Clapham, M.M. (2004). Attributes associated with the submission of electronic versus paper résumés. Computers in Human Behavior, 20(4), 535-549.

Jones, K.S., Elgin, P.D., Johnson, B.R., Swan, B.A., & Farris, J.S. (2004). Internet-based distance education materials: Does writing style matter? Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 48th Annual Meeting, 1543-1547.

Elgin, P.D., Raddatz, K.R. & Uhlarik, J. (2003). Combining usability methodologies to assess weather avionics systems. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 47th Annual Meeting, 124-128.

Raddatz, K.R., Elgin, P.D., & Thomas, R.P. (2003, February). User-centered design in aviation: The application of basic human factors principles to a "real world" problem. Invited presentation for the Kansas State University, Department of Psychology Colloquium Series, Manhattan, KS.

Elgin, P.D. (2002, June). Decision-making with cockpit weather displays. Presentation at the Decision Support System Workshop, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Farris, J.S., Jones, K.S., & Elgin, P.D. (2002). Users' schemata of hypermedia: What is so "spatial" about a website? Interacting with Computers, 14, 487-502.

Raddatz, K.R., Elgin, P.D., Prey, C.M., & Thomas, R.P. (2002, August). Landing GA aircraft in IMC using VFR skills: Supporting expert performance by SATS pilots. Paper presented at the NASA Technical Forum at the Experimental Aviation Association (EAA) Convention, Oshkosh, WI.

Elgin, P.D., Jones, K.S., Anders, B.A., & Farris, J.S. (2001). An investigation of web writing styles and distance education. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 45th Annual Meeting, 1215-1219.

Elgin, P.D., & Davis, S.T. (1996). Effects of orientation and meaning on mental rotation. Modern Psychological Studies, 5(1), 1-6.

Technical Team