Introduction to Human Factors

Introduction to human factors focusing on human capabilities in system design and operation.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Jackie Cha

Summary

1 / 6

Historical reviews of Hannah Silber, John Lee: The course typically requires weekly readings, online quizzes, case study analyses, and group assignments. Students report varying levels of effort, with some finding the workload minimal and others noting strict syllabus adherence.

Grade history

average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(I SY E 210,E C E 331,MATH/​STAT 309, 431,STAT 311, 324, 371,MATH 531,PSYCH 210, orC&E SOC/​SOC 360, or concurrent registration), graduate/professional standing, or member of Engineering Guest Students

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026
Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Jackie Cha is the current instructor for ISYE/PSYCH 349. Historical reviews for previous instructors describe varied experiences, ranging from engaging lectures to rigid teaching styles and significant organizational issues.

DOUGLAS WIEGMANN is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2020, Fall 2021. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

HANNAH SILBER is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN LEE is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RANJANA MEHTA is recorded teaching in Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction84 / 1200
LEC 001Classroom Instruction36 / 1200

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records

Student experience

the class

Historical reviews of Chris Johnson, Hannah Silber, John Lee, Ranjana Mehta: Overall experiences vary significantly by instructor, with some praised for accessibility and engagement while others face criticism for disorganization and rigid grading. Students should verify current syllabus details.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.89 GPA, 96.7% A/AB (n=120 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.93 GPA, 97.2% A/AB (n=108 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.77 GPA, 88.8% A/AB (n=98 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Hannah Silber, John Lee: The course typically requires weekly readings, online quizzes, case study analyses, and group assignments. Students report varying levels of effort, with some finding the workload minimal and others noting strict syllabus adherence.

Historical reviews of Chris Johnson, Hannah Silber: Interactive lectures and real-life examples are appreciated, though some find specific instructors' reliance on niche topics confusing. Students note that attending class and following syllabus guidelines is important for success.

Topics

  • Cognitive, physical, and psychosocial human characteristics
  • Application domains: consumer products, HCI, safety, healthcare
  • Case study analysis of accidents and design

Skills

  • Human-centered system design
  • Accident analysis and design improvement
  • Human capabilities assessment

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.15 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Selected offering source records
ISYE/PSYCH 349 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Human Factors

Recorded 2026-09-07
ISYE/PSYCH 349 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Human Factors

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
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    "offering_id": "1272:490:010239",
    "course_id": "ISYE/PSYCH 349",
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    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "010239",
    "source_subject_id": "490",
    "title": "Introduction to Human Factors",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  },
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    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
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    "offering_id": "1272:820:010239",
    "course_id": "ISYE/PSYCH 349",
    "course_uid": "course_0bf7d1fc20304def0233e765",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "010239",
    "source_subject_id": "820",
    "title": "Introduction to Human Factors",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
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]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "d0d045a59b1e29a529a7373b68b629975a2d0645652f3f2c56625cc6b1085008",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}