Hal Miller-Jacobs,
PhD, CUA, CPE
Managing Director Course Instructor

Job at HFI

• Establishing and managing the Boston area office of Human Factors International (as Eric calls these offices - "the front lines").
• Teaching HFI courses.
• Consulting with clients on user interface architecture, detailed design, standards development and usability evaluation.

Experience

Over 25 years in human factors, specializing in human-computer interaction. Starting back in the hardware intensive days, when human factors was only considered as the product was about to be shipped: "Hey Hal, what color should the PZT indicator be?" The usual response, "It doesn't matter, it's the least of your problems!"

Worked on projects for General Motors, Delta Airlines, Bell Canada, Boeing, Federal Express, Johnson & Johnson, and a host of other organizations trying to make systems more usable. Pioneered the use of rapid prototyping as a tool for user interface development. Authored chapters in the books, Color and the Computer, and Taking Software Design Seriously. Faculty member at Tufts University.

Education

B.S., in Physics - City College of New York

M.S., in Experimental Psychology - Tufts University

Ph.D., in Experimental Psychology - Tufts University

Areas of Interest and Design Orientation

Defining the basic structure of the user interface. Essentially taking a complex interface and making it so intuitive that even an adult can learn to use it.

Usability evaluations, especially during the early stages of design - not just at the end.

Favorite Project

Designing and conducting an automobile field test that had a computer-controlled breath testing device aimed at stopping drunk drivers from operating their vehicles (many "war" stories).

Most Rewarding
Experience

When the client says, "Why that interface is so simple, anyone could have designed it!" Or even better, when the questionnaire asks the user about the interface and it is so transparent they respond with, "What interface?"

Hobbies and Special Interests

Jogging - especially now with my teen-age daughters

"Waltzing on the Web" and discovering new sites (RealAudio is dynamite!)

Life's Dream

Meeting someone in a social setting and after telling them that I'm an Engineering Psychologist, they know what I'm talking about!

Here's Hal standing in front of the HFI satellite office in Lexington, MA.

Hal poses before engaging in one of his winter sports.

Hal caring for the plants at the Lexington office.