What are some common HMI design mistakes and how to avoid them?

HMI design guidelines and standards are essential for creating user-friendly and effective interfaces between humans and machines. However, many designers make common mistakes that can compromise the usability, safety, and efficiency of their HMI systems. In this article, we will discuss some of these mistakes and how to avoid them by following best practices and principles.

1 Know your users

The first step in designing a good HMI is to understand who your users are, what their goals are, and how they interact with the machine. You should conduct user research, such as interviews, surveys, observations, and testing, to gather data and insights about your users' needs, preferences, skills, and limitations. You should also create user personas, scenarios, and use cases to represent your users and their tasks. By knowing your users, you can design an HMI that suits their context and expectations.

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Alistair Pernigo

Visionary ║ Gen Z Entrepreneur
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It is often observed that designing without a thorough understanding of the end-users can lead to errors. In the past, complex HMI systems have become unusable due to a lack of alignment with users' abilities. To prevent such issues, it is recommended to conduct in-depth user research, create detailed scenarios, and test iterations with a representative sample of end-users.

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2 Follow design standards

There are many design standards and guidelines that can help you create a consistent, intuitive, and accessible HMI. Some of these standards are specific to certain industries, such as ISO 9241 for ergonomics of human-system interaction, or IEC 61131 for programmable controllers. Others are more general, such as Nielsen's usability heuristics, or Shneiderman's eight golden rules of interface design. You should follow these standards as much as possible, and only deviate from them when you have a valid reason and evidence to support your decision.

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Alistair Pernigo

Visionary ║ Gen Z Entrepreneur
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Neglecting design standards may lead to inconsistencies that could potentially confuse users. However, when creating a dashboard for monitoring energy systems, adherence to recognised standards ensured that our design was intuitive and accessible. It is important to consider whether any deviation from the standards would provide significant benefits to the user before making any changes.

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3 Use appropriate controls and feedback

Another common mistake in HMI design is to use inappropriate or insufficient controls and feedback for the user's actions. Controls are the elements that allow the user to input commands, such as buttons, switches, sliders, or keyboards. Feedback is the information that the system provides to the user, such as sounds, lights, text, or graphics. You should use controls and feedback that match the type, frequency, and complexity of the user's tasks, and that provide clear, timely, and accurate information. You should also avoid overloading the user with too many or too few controls and feedback, and balance the trade-off between simplicity and functionality.

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4 Optimize the layout and visual design

The layout and visual design of your HMI can have a significant impact on the user's performance, satisfaction, and safety. To optimize the layout and visual design, you should align elements according to a logical order and hierarchy, group related or functionally similar elements, minimize the distance and eye movement between the elements, use contrast, color, size, and shape to highlight important elements, use fonts, icons, symbols, and labels that are legible, meaningful, and consistent, and avoid clutter, noise, and distraction.

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Nik P.

Human Factors & Digital Human Engineering Specialist | CHFEP | AMIEAust
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In a project I worked on, we had multiple dial indicators with zero points in different positions: some at 12 o'clock, others at 7:30, and even one at 6 o'clock. This inconsistency meant users needed more cognitive effort to understand each dial, especially in high-pressure situations, compromising situational awareness. Standardising zero points simplifies dial checks. However, as zero is usually in the off state, consider the operational zone—the safe range for needle positions. Aligning needles in this zone leverages pattern recognition, making it easier to identify faults and enhancing system performance.

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5 Test and evaluate your HMI

The final step in designing a good HMI is to test and evaluate your HMI with real users and in realistic situations. You should conduct usability testing, such as think-aloud, observation, or questionnaire, to measure the user's satisfaction, efficiency, and effectiveness with your HMI. You should also conduct performance testing, such as error rate, response time, or throughput, to measure the system's reliability, accuracy, and speed. You should collect and analyze the data from your testing and evaluation, and use it to identify and fix any problems or issues with your HMI.

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What are some common HMI design mistakes and how to avoid them?

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1 Know your users

2 Follow design standards

3 Use appropriate controls and feedback

4 Optimize the layout and visual design

5 Test and evaluate your HMI

Human Machine Interface

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