ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the expanding role of the human factors professional in consumer product development. In generative search, as in most human factors research, much effort is made to ensure that the research participants are representative of the target user population. The development of new tools for generative search represents a unique opportunity for human factors practitioners to expand their role in product development. Each member of the product development team should play an active role in creating the tools, collecting the data, and analyzing the data. The role of the human factors practitioner in new product development has been to conduct research to understand and draw conclusions about users and their perceptions of the products being developed, usually via interviews and observations. The chapter deals with a short discussion of changes that are taking place within the emerging field of user-centered product development. It presents a framework for conducting generative search to support the product development process.
