HMI Design

TRAINING

Apply human-centred design to the unique challenges of Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) that support operators in high-impact decision-making.

PriceDatelocation
950€ – excl. VAT
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Postponed
(new date to be announced)
Namahn Design Studio
(Brussels)

This one-day training focuses on the principles and methodology for creating intuitive and efficient human-machine interfaces in the high-impact contexts where operators need to plan, monitor, control, and interact with safety-critical processes and complex industrial systems. In these environments, HMI design must balance usability, clarity, and reliability to support quick decision-making, reduce human error, and ensure operational safety.

What to expect

Part 1 – Introduction to high-impact HMI

  • Understand the specifics of high-impact HMI. Defining what “high impact” means in the context of HMIs and identifying the typical domains where it applies, such as aviation, process industries, infrastructure and emergency services.
  • Recognize how high-impact HMIs maximizes operator situational awareness and support effective responses, especially during abnormal or high-pressure conditions.

Part 2 – Human factors and core concepts

  • Explore the human side of HMI design. Diving into key concepts from human-factors engineering that influence how operators interact with systems in high-impact environments.
  • Understand cognitive load and error prevention. Learn how users process information, the risks of overload, and strategies to enhance user control and reduce mistakes.
  • Enhance situational awareness. See how visual clutter and poor information design impair an operator’s understanding, and how transforming raw data into actionable insights helps build and maintain situational awareness.
  • Dive deeper into essential human factors topics. Learn about other key concepts in HMI design such as mental models, modes of operation and undue deference.

Part 3 – HMI design methodology and best practices

  • Apply a structured methodology tailored to high-impact environments. Using the phases of human-centred design, while focusing on the techniques that matter most for high-impact HMI design.
  • Phase 1: Understand – Research and analysis Study the operational domain and processes, gather rich user input through interviews, questionnaires, and field studies, and conduct task analysis to reveal goals, workflows, and operational challenges.
  • Phase 2: Explore – Co-creation and concept development Develop design concepts through active collaboration with users. Test prototypes to ensure they align with real-world tasks and mental models. Introduce standards such as ISA-101 and a selection of relevant design patterns for high-impact HMIs.
  • Phase 3: Define – Specification and system integration Work closely with development teams to define the detailed HMI specification. Create a design system with recurring patterns to guarantee consistency and usability across all applications.

Part 4 – Exercise: Designing for tunnel traffic emergency scenarios

  • Move from theory and methodology to practice with a real-world scenario of a tunnel traffic control system during an emergency.
  • Work in smaller groups to tackle the emergency design challenge.
  • Share solutions with the other groups, receive feedback and discuss.

Part 5 – Current trends in HMI design

  • Explore where the future of HMI design is heading. Look into the key emerging trends that will shape high-impact HMIs in the coming years.
  • AI-driven HMIs. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming powerful tools for transforming raw data into useful, actionable information for operators.
  • Adaptive interfaces. As user needs and technologies evolve, HMIs must be flexible and modular. Incorporating continuous user feedback and localization strategies helps ensure long-term usability across diverse contexts.
  • Digital twins.. Increasingly used in industrial environments for data visualization and interaction, digital twins enhance training, simulations, and real-world operations through immersive user-centred design.

Key takeaways

  • Grasp the fundamentals of high-impact HMIsand human-centred design in critical environments.
  • Apply human factors insights to improve decision-making, clarity, and situational awareness.
  • Master a practical, phased methodology for designing and specifying high-impact HMIs.
  • Tackle a real-world emergency scenario to strengthen hands-on design skills.
  • Discover emerging trends like AI, adaptive interfaces, and digital twins in HMI design.

Who should attend

  • Project managers and product owners: Build a stronger foundation for specifying, evaluating, and delivering HMIs that meet the needs of users in safety-critical and operationally demanding domains.
  • Process and control engineers: Discover how effective interface design can enhance operator performance and learn a structured approach to collaborating with designers and users during HMI development.
  • Developers and integrators of industrial systems: Gain insights into how good HMI design principles can be implemented and maintained across platforms, and how to support design system consistency during system development.
  • UX/UI designers: Learn how to move beyond conventional usability to create interfaces that truly support operators under high-stress, high-risk conditions. Expand your design skills into industrial and safety-critical domain

Format

One day, in-person training in the Namahn Design Studio.

Your teachers

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Register to our design for HMI training course

(Registrations are not open yet. New date to be announced)