A Critique of the Use of Information Axiom for Ergonomic Design

Abstract

Axiomatic design is a science-based design process based on two axioms. The first axiom, the Independence Axiom, maintains the independence of the functional requirements. When more than one design that satisfies the Independence Axiom is available, the second axiom, the Information Axiom can be used to select the best design. That is, among those designs that satisfy Independence Axiom, the design with the smallest information content is the best design. Since its invention, the axiomatic design approach has been widely used in product, software, organization, and system development. Several studies investigated the potential of its use for ergonomic design but found some flaws. So they modified the original information axiom to fit ergonomic design. However, through this study, it is shown that the alternative formulae proposed by these studies have also their flaws for most anthropometric design cases. This paper examines the original information axiom formula as well as the modified ones for their applicability to ergonomic design and identifies the shortcomings within them. Several anthropometric design examples are provided to illustrate these cases.

Keywords: Axiomatic Design, Information Axiom, Ergonomic Design, Anthropometric Design

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004817