2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Informing AI Prompt Engineering for Industrial Engineering Training: A Human Factors Engineering Course Approach

Presented at Industrial Engineering Division (IED) Technical Session 2: AI Integration and Academic Integrity

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) tools into engineering education presents new opportunities to enhance problem-solving, design reasoning, and reflective learning. This study explores the role of AI prompt engineering as a pedagogical tool within Industrial Engineering education. This research aims to design and investigate how AI structured prompts can guide students through user-centered design processes and usability evaluations and critical analysis in an Advanced Topics in Human Factors Engineering course.

Students enrolled in this course will participate in two instructional phases: a traditional usability evaluation exercise and an AI-assisted module employing systematically designed prompts. The prompt structures will be categorized into analytical, creative, comparative, and reflective types, each targeting specific usability engineering skills such as heuristic evaluation, task analysis, and interface redesign. Learning outcomes are assessed through post-tests, rubric-based evaluations of usability reports, and surveys capturing students’ perceptions of AI’s educational value.

Preliminary findings are expected to demonstrate that AI-guided prompts improve students’ comprehension of usability principles, enhance their ability to identify and articulate design issues, and promote reflective thinking about user experience. The study contributes to the growing discourse on human-AI collaboration in engineering education by offering a replicable model for integrating prompt engineering into learning environments. Overall, this work will provide insights into designing effective AI-mediated learning strategies in human factors education and advance the future of Industrial Engineering education in the era of digital transformation.

Authors

Mr. EDWARD JAMES ISOGHIE University of Louisville [biography]

Edward Isoghie is a PhD candidate with a research focus on human factors and engineering education leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, digital twin, and virtual reality. He obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in Industrial and Production Engineering from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a masters in Operations Management at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
Jason J Saleem University of Louisville [biography]

Jason J. Saleem is an Associate Professor with the Department of Industrial Engineering at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville. He is also a Co-Director of the Center for Human Systems Engineering (CHSE). Dr. Saleem received his Ph.D. from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech in 2003, specializing in human factors engineering and ergonomics. Dr. Saleem's research interests focus on the integration of human factors engineering with the development of health information technology (HIT). His research also focuses on provider-patient interaction with respect to exam room computing, as well as virtual care tools and applications. Dr. Saleem also maintains an engineering education research portfolio and in 2024 was awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) entitled, 'Introducing a Mixed-Methods Approach to Engineering Students through Human-Centered Design'.

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