Defining the User Population

In ergonomics and anthropometrics, a user population is a group of people who are expected to use a product, system, or environment. For example, we could think of ‘elderly individuals’ and ‘military personnel’ as being two different user populations.

The characteristics of the user population are important to consider when designing products and environments because different user populations will have different ranges of different sizes and shapes, and they will have different abilities and needs.

For example, the strength capabilities of elderly individuals are likely to be lower than those of military personnel due to age-related declines in muscle mass and strength. 

This could impact the design of products for these two user populations in different ways. For example, products designed for elderly users might need to be easier to grip and hold, or have larger buttons or handles to make them easier to use. On the other hand, products designed for military personnel might need to be able to withstand more strenuous use, or be designed to be operated with heavy gloves or other protective gear.

It is often the case that we may need to consider multiple user populations. For example, in the design of an environment or product used by the general public, we may need to consider certain user populations such as disabled people, the elderly, or children.

The context of use will help us define the appropriate user population(s) when it comes to considering human variability.