What Does the Trade Press Really Say? Our ADAS + UX Team at AHFE 2026 in Istanbul

Automotive journalists write every day about how vehicles feel. They describe steering precision, ride comfort, usability, and braking behavior—all in vivid, evocative language that reaches millions of readers. But how much of that actually makes it into the requirements that engineers and human factors experts define in the early development phase? Surprisingly little.

This is exactly where our current research comes in—and we’re excited to present it in July 2026 at the AHFE International Conference in Istanbul.

The Voice of the Press—Systematically Decoded

Our paper, “Understanding the Voice of the Press – A KPI-driven Approach to Analyzing Press Requirements for Technology Development”, by Gioele Micheli and Seda Aydogdu (MdynamiX AG), introduces a new, reproducible method: How can qualitative press coverage be systematically translated into structured development criteria?

The answer lies in a multi-stage qualitative analysis process. From a curated selection of trade articles from a single automotive publication, evaluative statements are first extracted—covering vehicle dynamics, user experience, comfort, acoustics, steering, braking, and more. These statements are then coded by sentiment, technical discipline, and thematic content.

The result: an extensive pool of descriptive expressions that is clustered into coherent themes through iterative analysis. These themes form discipline-specific criteria—for steering precision, interface usability, or perceived driving performance, for example. Sentiment tags reveal which attributes are regularly criticized, which are praised only in exceptional cases, and which are simply taken for granted.

What’s behind this? The method reveals where user expectations are asymmetrical—where disappointment arises long before a vehicle even reaches the market. Expert workshops refine the criteria, reduce coder bias, and ensure technical consistency. The result is a scalable framework that integrates press perceptions directly into the early requirements phase.

Why This Matters for the Industry

The automotive industry invests billions in technical performance—yet still regularly loses ground where it counts: in press reception, in customer reviews, in perceived quality. The reason? Developers optimize what is measurable. The trade press evaluates what is experienced.

Our method bridges exactly this gap: it makes journalistic perception technically usable—without losing the nuances that make it valuable in the first place. This isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a crucial step toward truly user-centered vehicle development.

“The press doesn’t write for engineers—but engineers should read the trade articles.”

Interested in the Topic? Stop By—or Reach Out Directly!

Are you also attending AHFE 2026 (the Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics Conference) in Istanbul, July 20–24? Then we’d love to connect—feel free to join our presentation or talk to us directly.

Not on-site but interested in the topic? Reach out directly to our ADAS + UX team—we’re happy to discuss the method, potential applications in your development context, and further research directions.

The AHFE 2026 program is available at AHFE Conference – Program.