Evaluating design proposals with work domain analysis

In this paper we propose a new framework for evaluating designs based on work domain analysis, the first phase of' cognitive work analysis. We develop a rationale for a new approach to evaluation by describing the unique characteristics of complex systems and by showing that systems engineering techniques only partially accommodate these characteristics. We then present work domain analysis as a complementary framework for evaluation. We explain this technique by example by showing how the Australian Defence Force used work domain analysis to evaluate design proposals for a new system called Airborne Early Warning and Control. This case study also demonstrates that work domain analysis is a useful and feasible approach that compliments standard techniques for evaluation and that promotes a central role for human factors professionals early in the system design and development process. Actual or potential applications of this research include the evaluation of designs for complex systems

TEMPORAL COORDINATION CONTROL TASK ANALYSIS FOR ANALYSING HUMAN-SYSTEM INTEGRATION

Evaluating whether prospective air defense systems will effectively integrate the activities of humans and computers is a pressing issue for developers and purchasers of such systems. We need effective ways of modeling human-system integration while such systems are under development and while the possibilities for action are underspecified. We present a Cognitive Work Analysis-based analytic framework under development for characterising air defense control tasks and also for characterising the larger framework in which such control tasks must be coordinated. The challenge is to produce a formative rather than descriptive or normative model, within which broad logical and temporal constraints can be represented, so revealing possibilities for action as events unfold

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

This report contributes to the development of a coherent theoretical and methodological approach for work domain analysis (WDA), the first phase of cognitive work analysis. The report: (1) addresses a number of conceptual issues relating to WDA, including differences in the approaches of Rasmussen, Pejtersen, and Goodstein (1994) and Vicente (1999); (2) proposes a methodology for performing WDA; and (3) illustrates the theoretical concepts and methodology for WDA with a work domain of a home – a ‘system ’ that will be highly familiar to everyone. This research will help to: make WDA more accessible to researchers and practitioners who were not involved in the development of WDA or who cannot be apprenticed to experts in WDA; reduce the amount of time and effort it takes to perform WDA even for experts in WDA; and facilitate the application of WDA to large-scale industry projects. In addition, by making the methodology for WDA more explicit, this research will allow the methodology, or at least parts of the methodology, to be tested empirically

Cognitive work analysis for air defense applications in Australia

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