Cognitive Work Analysis: Coping with Complexity

Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) is a structured framework for considering the development and analysis of complex sociotechnical systems. The framework leads the analyst to consider the environment the task takes place within, and the effect of the imposed constraints on the system's ability to enact its raison d'etre.

The framework guides the analyst through the process of answering the question of why the system exists, what activities are conducted within the domain as well as how these activities are achieved and who is performing them.According to Sanderson (2003), CWA does not focus on how human-system interaction should proceed (normative modelling) or how human-system interaction currently works (descriptive modelling). Instead, it focuses on identifying properties of the work environment and of the workers themselves that define possible boundaries on the ways that human-system interaction might reasonably proceed, without explicitly identifying specific sequences of actions (formative modelling).The aim of this book is to provide the reader with detailed descriptions of how CWA can be used to design interfaces for use in all complex sociotechnical systems. The first part of the book contains a comprehensive description of CWA, introducing it to the uninitiated. Following this, the book demonstrates how to conduct the analysis in a number of settings, explaining further how CWA is used. Case studies detail military applications for land, sea and air operations. Following the thought-processes of the designer, the book then guides the reader through the process of applying CWA to the design and development of an interface or system, as well as how this can be evaluated against the original analysis.

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