Franzisca Maas

Dr. Franzisca Maas is a Scientific Associate at the Chair of Psychological Ergonomics, Institute for Human-Computer-Media, Faculty of Human Sciences, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg. Since 2019 she has been a core member of the team, and since 2020 she has contributed to the interdisciplinary project ForDemocracy, focusing on civic participation in the Würzburg Hubland district.

Education

• B.Sc. Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg
• M.Sc. Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg
• Research internship, Chair of Psychological Ergonomics with Prof. Dr. Jörn Hurtienne
• Internship in User Research & Usability at eresult GmbH, Göttingen

Research Interests

Dr. Maas investigates the intersection of human-centred design, civic participation, and health-care usability. Her work embraces participatory technology development, digital citizen engagement, and user-experience methodologies that integrate psychological ergonomics with open-science practices. A particular focus lies in inclusive design approaches that respect fundamental human values and foster democratic participation.

Teaching

She currently teaches:

• Usability and Software Ergonomics (B.Sc. Human-Computer Systems)
• Qualitative Research Methods in HCI (M.Sc. Human-Computer Interaction)

Recent Work & Trends

Across more than twenty publications since 2017, Dr. Maas has advanced participatory and socially responsible technology development, often combining qualitative fieldwork with experimental mixed-methods studies. Her recent papers explore XR games for social closeness, image-schema-based design tools, clinical decision-support systems, and the nuanced requirements of digital civic-participation platforms.

Projects & Labs

She is an active member of the Psychological Ergonomics research group led by Prof. Dr. Jörn Hurtienne and contributes to the ForDemocracy project, which unites researchers, citizens, and municipal stakeholders to co-create participation technologies for the Hubland district.