starting human factors work

hi all,

i recently started at a company where I am the first Human Factors Engineer
they've ever had. I've been in this position before at another company and
it didn't go to well since developers were used to making all the decisions
themselves and didn't want to listen to anyone, even the users. These
developers would insist that users are stupid and they (the developers) know
what is best. (I don't work there anymore.)

Can anyone point me to articles or books that talk about how to start a
successful Human Factors discipline within a company that never had anything
like this???

It's obvious this company needs people like me, but some developers here
seem to be on a similar path - saying they know what is best and
disregarding research and recommendations from users. I still find myself
implementing what someone "thinks" is best, despite research and
recommendations going the opposite way.

The company did hire me, although I don't know who championed that decision.
My direct manager is a project manager, and I am part of the software
engineering team. Everyone likes the idea of having human factors work done,
but not when it messes with any deadlines. I was initially asked to give
recommendations for a product that is scheduled to be shipped out on Feb 15.
Needless to say, my recommendations are not being considered since it's too
late to make design/development changes....

- carrie
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