Learn from the mistakes of others
he problem with being too busy to read is that you learn by experience… i.e. the hard way. By reading, you learn through others’ experiences, generally a better way to do business…
General James Mattis
Author: Benjamin Schwartz
Hi, I'm Ben!
Growing up I wanted to be an astronaut because it looked fun. Then I watched Apollo 13 and saw that it was the engineers who had the most interesting and challenging roles. At Space Camp I learned about the unique challenges of living and working in space, so I decided to pursue a career in human factors engineering. I have been fortunate to work on many fascinating projects in aviation, military, and commercial systems. I'm proud to make complicated, mission-critical systems easier and more effective to use.
I am currently the Director of Human Engineering at Monterey Technologies, a small business providing human engineering services to a variety of commercial and government customers. I support a top-notch team of human factors engineers, user experience designers, and other specialists. We apply agile, user-centered systems engineering to ensure that systems meet stakeholder and mission needs.
I'm also involved in STEM education and mentorship through organizations such as the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), SAE International, Girl Scouts, and local schools.
I'm passionate about improving the discipline and practice of systems engineering and particularly the systems engineering specialty of human systems integration (HSI). Through professional societies such as the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) I have contributed to the development of standards and guidance, presented at conferences, and generally shared my passion for developing mission-capable, highly-usable systems.
That's also my objective for Engineering for Humans. Writing this blog helps me think through and organize my thoughts. I also want to bring awareness to the role of human engineering in system development and to foster critical discussion on current industry trends.
I'd love to hear from you, you can reach me at benjamin@engineeringforhumans.com.
A Functional Team is NOT an Integrated Product Team
TL;DR: An Integrated Product Team (IPT) is a cross-functional group. If everyone on the team has the same background, that’s a functional or discipline team. There’s a difference.
Board man gets paid
Pro basketball player Kawhi Leonard found his niche as “The Board Man”. What’s your niche?
Diversity in engineering careers
We’ve come a long way. It’s never been a better time to enter the workforce as a woman/person of color/LGBTQ/etc. Diversity in the workforce and leadership of engineering companies is on the rise, barriers are falling, and the value of diversity is being recognized. And yet, we still have so far to go.
The Swiss cheese model: Designing to reduce catastrophic losses
The vast majority of catastrophes are created by a series of factors that line up in just the wrong way, allowing seemingly-small details to add up to a major incident. The Swiss cheese model is a great way to visualize this and is fully compatible with systems thinking. Understanding it will help you design systems which are more resilient to failures, errors, and even security threats.
Thoughts on “A Message to Garcia”
“A Message to Garcia” is a brief essay on the value of initiative and hard work written by Elbert Hubbard in 1898. It is often assigned in leadership courses, particularly in the military. There are a number of interpretations and potential lessons to be extracted from this story. It’s important that developing leaders find the valuable ideas.
It’s time to get rid of specialty engineering: A criticism of the INCOSE Handbook
The INCOSE Handbook “Specialty Engineering” section is a hodge-podge of roles and skillsets with varying scope. It does a disservice to many of the aspects, particularly human systems integration (HSI).
The Boeing 737 Max crashes represent a failure of systems engineering
The 737 is an excellent airplane with a long history of safe, efficient service. Boeing’s cockpit philosophy of direct pilot control and positive mechanical feedback represents excellent human factors. In the latest generation, the 737 Max, Boeing added a new component to the flight control system which deviated from this philosophy, resulting in two fatal crashes. This is a case study in the failure of human factors engineering and systems engineering.
Visiting an operational missile cruiser
I was recently offered an incredible opportunity to spend a day aboard an operational U.S. Navy ship, meeting the crew and observing their work as they conducted a live fire exercise. The experience blew me away. I came away with new appreciation for our surface forces as well as observations relevant for defense acquisition policy and systems engineering.
System lexicons and why your project needs one
A system lexicon is a simple tool which can have a big impact on the success of the system. It aligns terminology among technical teams, the customer, subcontractors, support personnel, and end users. This creates shared understanding and improves consistency. Read on to learn how to implement this powerful tool on your program.