Real products meet tired and hurried users every day, not ideal operators who follow each step in a quiet lab. People wear gloves, work in poor light, grab the wrong plug, skip checks, or reach toward moving parts. These acts show how a product meets the real world.
When a product causes harm, early reports may blame the user, but cases reviewed by Michael Kelly often raise a key question: did the injury come from the design, production, an inadequate warning, or the way it was used? Engineers cannot predict every extreme act. They should study likely mistakes and show how risks were clearly reduced.
Why Ideal Use Is an Incomplete Design Assumption
Intended use defines what the product should do. Foreseeable misuse covers acts outside that pla ...
