Cognitive Work Analysis: Coping with Complexity / Edition 1

by Daniel P. Jenkins, Neville A. Stanton, Guy H. Walker

Overview

'Complex sociotechnical systems' are systems made up of numerous interacting parts, both human and non-human, operating in dynamic, ambiguous and safety critical domains. Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) is a structured framework specifically developed for considering the development and analysis of these complex socio-technical systems. Unlike many human factors approaches, CWA does not focus on how human-system interaction should proceed (normative modelling) or how human-system interaction currently works (descriptive modelling). Instead, through a focus on constraints, it develops a model of how work can be conducted within a given work domain, without explicitly identifying specific sequences of actions (formative modelling). The framework leads the analyst to consider the environment the task takes place within, and the effect of the imposed constraints on the way work can be conducted. It provides guidance through the process of answering the questions of why the system exists, what activities can be conducted within the domain as well as how these activities can be achieved, and who can perform them. The first part of the book contains a comprehensive description of CWA, introducing it to the uninitiated. It then presents a number of applications in complex military domains to explore and develop the benefits of CWA. Unlike much of the previous literature, particular attention is placed on exploring the CWA framework in its entirety. This holistic approach focuses on the system environment, the activity that takes place within it, the strategies used to conduct this activity, the way in which the constituent parts of the system (both human and non-human) interact and the behaviour required. Each stage of this analysis identifies the constraints governing the system; it is contended that through this holistic understanding of constraints, recommendations can be made for the design of system interaction; increasing the ability of users to cope with unanticipated, unexpected situations. This book discusses the applicability of the approach in system analysis, development and evaluation. It provides process to what was previously a loosely defined framework.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780754670261
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/05/2008
Series:	Human Factors in Defence
Edition description:	1
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Daniel P. Jenkins, Neville A. Stanton, Guy H. Walker

Table of Contents

List of Figures ix

List of Contents xv

Acknowledgements xvii

About the Authors xix

Commonly Used Analysis Acronyms and Initialisms xxiii

Commonly Used Military Acronyms and Initialisms xxv

Glossary xxvii

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Why CWA for Command and Control? 2

Structure of the Book 4

Chapter 2 It's a Complex World 7

Introduction 7

Complexity 7

Command and Control C2 9

What Makes CWA Different From Other Human Factors Methods? 10

The Framework 16

Framework for Conducting CWA 19

Work Domain Analysis 19

Control Task Analysis 27

Strategies Analysis 31

Social Organisation and Cooperation Analysis 33

Worker Competencies Analysis 35

Chapter Summary 38

Chapter 3 Interaction Design 41

Chapter Introduction 41

Interface Design or Interaction Design? 42

Interface Design Principles 43

Developing Displays 51

Grouping Displays 52

Physical and Functional Interfaces 54

Metaphoric References 56

When Mental Models are Incorrect 58

Standardise Approaches 59

What are We Designing? - A Case Study for Military Planning 60

Chapter Summary 65

Chapter 4 Application of CWA in Familiar Domains 69

Chapter Introduction 69

An iPod 69

Introduction 69

The Analysis 72

Work Domain Analysis 72

Control Task Analysis 76

Strategies Analysis 78

Conclusions 81

Chapter Summary 82

Chapter 5 Applications of CWA in a Complex World 83

Chapter Introduction 83

Design - CWA of Rotary Wing Military Mission Planning System 83

Data Collection 86

Analysis Results 87

Conclusions 98

Evaluation - Using Work Domain Analysis to Evaluate the Impact of Digitisation on Command and Control 100

Method 103

Results 106

Conclusions 109

Chapter Summary 109

Chapter 6 Using CWA to Design for Dynamic Allocation of Function 111

Chapter Introduction 111

CWA of the Sensor to Effecter Paradigm 111

The Domain 112

The Analysis 113

Conclusions 128

Design for the Sensor to Effecter System 129

Chapter Summary 153

Chapter 7 Designing Interfaces Using CWA 155

Chapter Introduction 155

New Warfare 156

Effects Based Operations (EBO) 156

The Comprehensive Approach 158

Synthesising CWA and EBO 159

Benefits of This Type of Representation 161

A Contemporary Planning Approach 162

Development of Visualisation Ideas 168

The Synthesis of EBO and CWA 168

Display Ideas 169

Experiments 171

Phase 1 Interpretation of Existing Displays 171

Phase 2 Ease of Generation and Usability of Displays 181

Experimental Conclusions 192

Chapter Summary 194

Chapter 8 Development of a CWA Software Tool 197

Introduction 197

Why Do We Need a Software Tool? 197

What Should the Tool Do, and How Should It Do It? 197

The Benefits of the Tool 200

Using the Tool 200

Analysis Information 201

Phase 1 Work Domain Analysis (WDA) 202

Phase 2 Control Task Analysis (ConTA) 205

Phase 3 Course of Action / Strategies Analysis (StrA) 209

Phase 4 Social Organisation and Cooperation Analysis (SOCA) 212

Phase 5 Worker Competencies Analysis 215

Compilation 216

Summary 216

Chapter Summary 218

Chapter 9 Does the Tool Make the CWA Process any Quicker or Easier? 219

Chapter Introduction 219

CWA of an Armoured Battlegroup in the Quick Attack 219

The Analysis 223

Conclusions 231

Chapter Summary 233

Chapter 10 Conclusions 235

Is CWA Useful for the Analysis, Development and Evaluation of 'Command and Control' Systems? 236

Can It Cope with Complexity and Different Units of Analysis (Artefacts to Dynamic Systems)? 236

What Are the Limits of CWA? 237

Developments and Directions for Future Work 238

Linking the Phases 240

Extending CWA 242

Closing Remarks 246

Appendix: Can it be Taught? 247

Bibliography 255

Index 265

Editorial Reviews

'The book Cognitive Work Analysis: Coping with Complexity, elegantly, intuitively and compellingly makes the case for why cognitive work analysis (CWA) is different from, and provides great value added to, the two more traditional human factors techniques of hierarchical task analysis, and participatory user-centered design. Such value is particularly relevant in the emerging domain of complex multi-operator, multi-agent systems; which must react appropriately to unexpected and unpredicted events (the world's economy being a recent example). The focus of the CWA technique is not so much on what'should be done in system interaction (the traditional techniques), but what could be done, given the combination of constraints from human cognition, physical capabilities and the environment. As such, the authors have built on the foundational work of Rasmussen and Vicente, but have gone beyond in three important respects: First, in an effort to reach a wide audience, they have started with simple systems (basic interface design), to gradually move the reader's understanding toward the more complex systems; second, they ultimately consider a wide variety of system applications beyond the process control domain where CWA had most traditionally been applied. The applications to command and control systems are particularly insightful; third, they place considerable emphasis on teaching the reader how to do CWA, in a way that can bring this technique closer to a wide variety of applications. Because the book is also clearly and intuitively written, with plenty of examples, it should be a valuable addition to the toolbox of human factors practitioners, who must confront the many complex, distributed net-centric and ill-defined tasks, carried out increasingly by workers in the information age of the 21st century.' Christopher D. Wickens, University of Illinois and University of Colorado, USA 'How do you deal with burgeoning and interactive sources of uncertainty while all the

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