Like lots of kids, Kritina Holden dreamed of working at NASA when she grew up. Not necessarily as an astronaut, just at NASA. However, unlike lots of kids, Tina’s dream actually came true.
Kritina Holden, Ph.D., Technical Fellow in Human Factors at Leidos, has spent most of her career at NASA's Johnson Space Center, focusing on how humans interact with technology.
“Unlike a technology focused role, a human factors practitioner's role is to focus on the human user. It's not about what cool technologies can be brought to bear on a problem, but really about fully understanding -- what are the needs of the user in performing their task? And then what cool technologies might meet those needs?”
In this episode, Tina discusses how she got into the field, what being a Technical Fellow in Human Factors actually means, and what human systems integration is. She also shares some examples of how NASA is using human systems integration (HSI) in their program today and into the future as they plan for missions to Mars.
“Focusing on the human means that you involve the user from the beginning. Try to understand their capabilities, the environment they work in, and the culture of the environment. We follow the well-known Human Factors maxim of know thy user - for they are not you.”
To learn more about how HSI applies to office applications as well as space travel, how movies often miss the mark when it comes to realistically usable technologies, and how someone aspiring to follow in Tina’s footsteps can achieve their NASA dream, don’t miss this enlightening episode.
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