Risk Analysis for Design and Innovation

Use-related risk analysis is about assessing potential problems that can occur during use and the harm they might cause. It is also about how to control those potential problems and create design opportunities. This webinar will help attendees consider use-related risk analysis in simple terms so that they can start early and use it as a powerful tool for creative output.

Presenters will show how use-related risk analysis can:

• Be an efficient method for generating valuable insights and issues
• Be a partner in creative thinking by organizing what can go wrong 
• Start simple and evolve at the heart of medical device product development
• Increase the chances of innovation by providing more ways to approach solving problems

About our presenters

Cory Costantino, design director

For over 20 years, Costantino has helped guide products, from hand-held consumer electronics to medical devices and software user interfaces, from concept to production. Costantino is a board-certified human factors professional. He received his M.S. in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley University and his B.S. in Industrial Design from Wentworth Institute of Technology. Costantino oversees and contributes to a wide range of projects, including software user interfaces, instructional materials, hardware/ergonomic design reviews, and multi-phase projects, where he often contributes to user research and usability testing. Costantino has served as design director and co-founder of two start-up companies, as an adjunct professor of design, and as a design consultant. His unique and diverse experience enables him to deeply understand the intersection of client resources, user needs and design vision.

Alix Dorfman, managing human factors pecialist

Alix Dorfman is a managing uman factors specialist within the Human Factors Research & Design group at Emergo by UL. She is primarily responsible for managing medical device usability evaluations involving both hardware and software, and advising medical manufacturers’ so that their products meet regulatory requirements. Given her interests in human mobility, she has led various use-related evaluations of early-stage exoskeleton and surgical robot development efforts. Prior to her role with Emergo by UL, she applied principles of human factors engineering to technology primarily designed for the U.S. military. She is co-author of the book: Designing for Safe Use (2019), has lectured courses at Tufts University as well as Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and enjoys regularly delivering presentations on related human factors topics. She earned her Master’s degree in Psychology – Human Factors & Applied Cognition from George Mason University and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Economics from Cornell University.