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While several competency frameworks have been proposed for Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) practitioners, these are not commonly based on structured analyses. The aim of this research was to develop a sociotechnical systems model of the HFE practitioner role in Australia and identify the competencies required to fulfil the role. Study One applied the Work Domain Analysis phase of cognitive work analysis (CWA) to model the HFE practitioner role. Model refinement was undertaken with seven subject matter experts. In Study Two, the model was used to elicit the competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, other characteristics) required for successful performance, via a survey of 28 HFE practitioners. Most competencies related to skills (i.e. communication skills) and knowledge (i.e. domain knowledge). Gaps in competencies were also identified, linked to a lack of HFE education pathways in Australia. The findings have practical utility for designing HFE practitioner roles and educational programs.

Cryptocurrencies are receiving significant attention owing to their volatility, affiliation with criminal activities and perceived role in money laundering. Traditional anti-money laundering enforc...

Following strict “lockdown” restrictions designed to control the spread of the COVID‐19 virus, many jurisdictions are now engaged in a process of easing restrictions in an attempt to stimulate economic and social activity while continuing to suppress virus transmission. This is challenging and complex, and in several regions, new outbreaks have emerged. We argue that systems Human Factors and Ergonomics methods can assist in understanding and optimizing the return from lockdown. To demonstrate, we used work domain analysis to develop an abstraction hierarchy model of a generic “return from lockdown restrictions” system. The model was assessed to identify (a) issues preventing a successful return from lockdown; and (b) leverage points that could be exploited to optimize future processes. The findings show that the aim of continuing to suppress virus transmission conflicts with the aims of returning to pre‐virus economic and social activity levels. As a result, many functions act against each other, ensuring that the system cannot optimally achieve all three of its primary aims. Potential leverage points include modifying the goals and rules of the system and enhancing communications and feedback. Specifically, it is argued that moderating economic aims and modifying how social and community activities are undertaken will result in longer term suppression of the virus.

Background Emergency departments (EDs) are complex socio-technical work systems that require staff to manage patients in an environment of fluctuating resources and demands. To better understand the purpose, and pressures and constraints for designing new ED facilities, we developed an abstraction hierarchy model as part of a work domain analysis (WDA) from the cognitive work analysis (CWA) framework. The abstraction hierarchy provides a model of the structure of the ED, encompassing the core objects, processes, and functions relating to key values and the ED’s overall purpose. Methods Reviews of relevant national and state policy, guidelines, and protocol documents applicable to care delivery in the ED were used to construct a WDA. The model was validated through focus groups with ED clinicians and subsequently validated using a series of WDA prompts. Results The model shows that the ED system exhibits extremely interconnected and complex features. Heavily connected functions introduce vulnerability into the system with function performance determined by resource availability and prioritization, leading to a trade-off between time and safety priorities. Conclusions While system processes (e.g., triage, fast-track) support care delivery in ED, this delivery manifests in complex ways due to the personal and disease characteristics of patients and the dynamic state of the ED system. The model identifies system constraints that create tension in care delivery processes (e.g., electronic data entry, computer availability) potentially compromising patient safety. Application The model identified aspects of the ED system that could be leveraged to improve ED performance through innovative ED system design.

Outdoor education programs have been shown to enhance the development of positive psychology and wellbeing in students. However, there is a lack of research investigating the specific components within outdoor education programs that may enhance positive psychology and, in particular, positive masculinity. The aim of the current study was to investigate a specific outdoor education program targeted for adolescent males with the purpose of developing positive masculinity. A systems analysis framework, Work Domain Analysis, was used to model the program components and interactions between them, to evaluate how they influence the development of positive masculinity. The Work Domain Analysis model was developed from data obtained from four previous participants of the program, and eight subject matter experts (SMEs) who participated in online questionnaires, and face to face online or telephone interviews. The Work Domain Analysis was subsequently refined during an SME workshop, and validated by SMEs post-workshop. The Work Domain Analysis identified multiple components of the program, that were intended to enhance the development of positive masculinity. These include the structured and unstructured activities, the debrief and guided reflections, and Elders night. Recommendations of how the program could be enhanced to focus on mental health challenges in young men from rural community are discussed. Future research could investigate the specific functions of the program and their effects on desired outcome measures in outdoor education programs.

The objective of this paper is to cast users of railway level crossings as flexible and adaptive decision-makers, and to apply a cognitive systems engineering approach to discover new behaviour-based insights for improving safety. Collisions between trains and road vehicles at railway level crossings/grade crossings remain a global issue. It is still far from apparent why drivers undertake some of the behaviours that lead to collisions, and there remains considerable justification for continuing to explore this issue with novel methods and approaches. In this study, 220 level crossing encounters by 22 car drivers were subject to analysis. Concurrent verbal protocols provided by drivers as they drove an instrumented vehicle around a pre-defined route were subject to content analysis and mapped onto Rasmussen’s Abstraction Decomposition Space. Three key results emerged. First, when they realise they are in a crossing environment, drivers’ natural tendencies are to look for trains (even if not required), slow down (again, even if not required), and for their behaviour to be shaped by a wide variety of constraints and affordances (some, but not all, put there for that purpose by railway authorities). The second result is that expert decision-making in these situations does not describe a trajectory from high-level system purposes to low-level physical objects. Instead, drivers remain at intermediate and lower levels of system abstraction, with many loops and iterations. The final finding is that current level crossing systems are inadvertently constraining some desirable behaviours, affording undesirable ones, and that unexpected system elements are driving behaviour in ways not previously considered. Railway level crossings need to be designed to reveal their functional purpose much more effectively than at present.

Crashes at intersections represent an important road safety problem. Interactions between different road user types, such as between vehicles and vulnerable road users, are a particular concern. It has been suggested driver-centric road design plays a role in crashes. A multi-road user evaluation of three novel intersection designs is described. The designs were generated using the Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit, underpinned by sociotechnical systems theory. The desktop evaluation involved drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians rating the design concepts against alignment with design goals, sociotechnical systems theory and usability, and providing feedback on the positive and negative aspects. Two concepts received more positive ratings and feedback in comparison to a concept that provided more user autonomy. The evaluation results also highlight clear differences in needs across road user groups. The design and evaluation process demonstrates how sociotechnical systems values and principles can be applied in the design of public spaces. Practitioner Summary: This study involved a participatory evaluation of novel road intersection designs, based on sociotechnical systems theory. The results identified important differences in needs and preferences across road user groups and demonstrate the value of sociotechnical systems theory and user participation in road transport design and evaluation processes. Abbreviations: CWA-DT: cognitive work analysis design toolkit; WDA: work domain analysis; SUS: system usability scale.

Isolated caregivers in remote environments frequently request medical advice or decision support from distant experts. Among the multiple difficulties arising from this configuration, exchanging timely and pertinent information under pressure between the two parties poses a considerable challenge. Cognitive Work Analysis and notably the Turing Machine Task Analysis (TMTA) method that enables task processing simulation represent a methodological framework that can guide the specification of remote assistance systems. Within this perspective, TMTA was used to specify assistance functions within a case study of acute abdominal pain occurring on a remote location. Using previous studies and medical knowledge, a work domain analysis of acute abdominal pain was conducted. Based on this analysis, a Turing machine state space was formalized. Applying this method provides two main outcomes helping specify medical assistance functions: a global architecture of medical assistance for isolated caregivers and guidance to define the kind of assistance functions that could be implemented, notably owing to the simulation of Turing machine scenarios. Associated with the abstraction hierarchy technique, the Turing machine simulation process provides a model of the dynamics of interaction between agents and work domain within the framework of adaptive assistance.

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems enable communication for individuals with complex communication needs. The frequency users rely on the communication systems necessitates an interface design that supports usability. As a first step to systematically designing a user interface, the Work Domain Analysis (WDA) framework was applied to a popular commercial AAC system, Proloquo2Go, to analyze and understand system constraints and design a new user interface for an AAC system. For the purpose of the analysis, the system boundaries were that of verbal language-based communication. Information for the analysis of the system was gathered through exploratory operation of AAC systems and structured interviews with a speech-language pathologist and parents of AAC system users. Research into the process of language formation showed logical groupings of the different types of language components to communicate information regarding states, objects, relationships, and emotions; component types were subsequently grouped for high-level communication of ideas and requests. An abstraction hierarchy was developed to represent the various levels of abstraction of the system from which information requirements were determined. This paper presents a novel application of WDA for AAC systems. Results derived from the application of WDA have yielded valuable design considerations for an AAC system user.

Controlling a medical simulation training exercise, especially one that involves an interactive patient simulator, is a demanding job. It requires monitoring, and sometimes intervening in, technical processes and the learner’s cognitive processes. To explore opportunities for better support for the cognitive demands of simulation directors, we conducted a Work Domain Analysis to generate an Abstraction Hierarchy on the area of management of a simulation training exercise. Our results emphasize the complexity involved, including the management of trade-offs between facilitation of learning and maintenance of the learner’s immersion in the scenario. We identify potential methods of cognitive support for managing these trade-offs. Next steps include analysis of control methods.

The trading of illicit goods in dark net marketplaces is a significant and growing global problem. This paper describes the findings from a study which involved the use of Work Domain Analysis in conjunction with a node breaking process to identify interventions designed to disrupt trading in dark net marketplaces. The analysis identified a series of critical disruption points and opportunities for disrupting dark net trading, including strategies to disrupt critical functions such as marketplace administration, reputation management, and product management. The analysis also showcases the potential use of Human Factors and Ergonomics for disrupting, as well as optimising, complex sociotechnical systems. The benefits of using Human Factors and Ergonomics to disrupt complex systems, as well as optimise them, are discussed along with potential application areas.

Introduction: As sports systems become increasingly more complex, competitive, and technology-centric, there is a greater need for systems ergonomics methods to consider the performance, health, and safety of athletes in context with the wider settings in which they operate. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to identify and critically evaluate studies which have applied a systems ergonomics research approach in the context of sports performance and injury management. Material and methods: Five databases (PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus) were searched for the dates 01 January 1990 to 01 August 2017, inclusive, for original peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. Reported analyses were underpinned by a recognised systems ergonomics method, and study aims were related to the optimisation of sports performance (e.g. communication, playing style, technique, tactics, or equipment), and/or the management of sports injury (i.e. identification, prevention, or treatment). Results: A total of seven articles were identified. Two articles were focussed on understanding and optimising sports performance, whereas five examined sports injury management. The methods used were the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork, Cognitive Work Analysis (the Work Domain Analysis Abstraction Hierarchy), Rasmussen's Risk Management Framework, and the Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes method. The individual sport application was distance running, whereas the team sports contexts examined were cycling, football, Australian Football League, and rugby union. Conclusions: The included systems ergonomics applications were highly flexible, covering both amateur and elite sports contexts. The studies were rated as valuable, providing descriptions of injury controls and causation, the factors influencing injury management, the allocation of responsibilities for injury prevention, as well as the factors and their interactions underpinning sports performance. Implications and future directions for research are described.

Work domain analysis (WDA) is used to model the functional structure of sociotechnical systems (STS) through the abstraction hierarchy (AH). By identifying objects, processes, functions and measures that support system purposes, WDA reveals constraints within the system. Traditionally, the AH describes system elements at the lowest level of abstraction as physical objects. Multiple analyses of complex systems reveal that many include objects that exist only at a conceptual level. This paper argues that, by extending the AH to include cognitive objects, the analytical power of WDA is extended, and novel areas of application are enabled. Three case studies are used to demonstrate the role that cognitive objects play within STS. It is concluded that cognitive objects are a valid construct that offer a significant enhancement of WDA and enable its application to some of the world's most pressing problems. Implications for future applications of WDA and the AH are discussed.

The suspension of major sporting competitions due to the global COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial negative impact on the sporting industry. As such, a successful and sustainable return to sport will require extensive modifications to the current operations of sporting organizations. In this article we argue that methods from the realm of sociotechnical systems (STS) theory are highly suited for this purpose. The aim of the study was to use such methods to develop a model of an Australian Football League (AFL) club’s football department. The intention was to identify potential modifications to the club’s operations to support a return to competition following the COVID-19 crisis. Subject Matter Experts from an AFL club participated in three online workshops to develop Work Domain Analysis and Social Organization and Cooperation Analysis models. The results demonstrated the inherent complexity of an AFL football department via numerous interacting values, functions and processes influencing the goals of the system. Conflicts within the system were captured via the modeling and included pursing goals that may not fully reflect the state of the system, a lack of formal assessment of core values, overlapping functions and objects, and an overemphasis on specialized roles. The current analysis has highlighted potential areas for modification in the football department, and sports performance departments in general.

Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) is an appropriate approach in design for high-stakes domains, such as air traffic management (ATM) since it focuses on human expert performance in regular and continge...

Led outdoor activities such as rock climbing, canoeing, and hiking, involve intentional engagement with risk. Organizations that provide these activities are obliged to manage risk by eliminating or minimizing health and safety risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Regulating safety across this industry sector therefore presents special challenges. The current regulatory environment for led outdoor activity safety in Victoria, Australia consists of multiple, loosely connected instruments and agencies. This study used Work Domain Analysis to develop a model of the functional structure of the regulatory system. The model was then used in interviews with domain experts to identify problems with the structure, efficiency and effectiveness of the regulatory system. A model of the functional structure of the system was developed and system weaknesses identified. Next steps toward reform of this system and implications for other regulatory regimes are discussed.

Current approaches for the urban planning and design of our cities and towns are challenged by the inherent complexity of urban systems. Sociotechnical systems thinking is explored here to better understand this complexity and therein assist the service industries involved in urban planning and design practice. Subject matter expert knowledge and insights have been used to inform the development of a work domain analysis model, the first phase of cognitive work analysis. Work domain analysis allows for the constraints, boundaries, and interdependencies within a sociotechnical system to be identified and explored. This analysis describes and models an archetype complex urban system, providing new ways to understand urban complexity and inform urban planning and design practice. Further, the different discipline viewpoints (object worlds) of urban systems are identified within the work domain analysis. The results demonstrate the wide‐ranging and transdisciplinary perspectives on complex urban systems, while also suggesting that cognitive work analysis is a suitable method to better understand their complexity.

Icebreakers are special-purpose ships designed to operate in different ice-covered waters, either independently or duringassistance of weaker ships. In the Baltic Sea, as well as elsewhere, they are essential for maintaining continuous sea transportservices during wintertime. Icebreaker operations are complex, and every situation in which a vessel requires assistanceis unique, due to, e.g. changing ice and weather conditions, geographical location or language proficiency of the crew onboard the icebreaker or assisted vessel. The icebreaker crew has considerable freedom to adapt to each situation, yet, forsafe operations, there are constraints to which the crew has to conform. The study presented in this paper aims at identifyingthe constraints on nautical officers on board icebreakers during operations, as well as special situations that increasecognitive load. A work domain analysis based on a group interview with nautical icebreaker officers shows the multitudeof tasks performed on board icebreakers. Furthermore, it identifies constraints specific to icebreaker operations such as iceassessment and direct icebreaking, but also generic constraints such as language and communication skills. At times, safetyand efficiency come into conflict, resulting in a trade-off between the two. When that happens, safety gets priority, and theoperation stops until the situation has been evaluated. In addition, several situations that increase cognitive load are identified,with the common denominator that they add elements of uncertainty, e.g. severe weather and technical malfunctions.Finally, further research within the area of icebreaker operations is recommended, with a continued focus on the systemconstraints, and their potential for system improvement.

Objective: The aim of this study was to apply work domain analysis for cybersecurity assessment and design of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. Background: Adoption of information and communication technology in cyberphysical systems (CPSs) for critical infrastructures enables automated and distributed control but introduces cybersecurity risk. Many CPSs employ SCADA industrial control systems that have become the target of cyberattacks, which inflict physical damage without use of force. Given that absolute security is not feasible for complex systems, cyberintrusions that introduce unanticipated events will occur; a proper response will in turn require human adaptive ability. Therefore, analysis techniques that can support security assessment and human factors engineering are invaluable for defending CPSs. Method: We conducted work domain analysis using the abstraction hierarchy (AH) to model a generic SCADA implementation to identify the functional structures and means–ends relations. We then adopted a case study approach examining the Stuxnet cyberattack by developing and integrating AHs for the uranium enrichment process, SCADA implementation, and malware to investigate the interactions between the three aspects of cybersecurity in CPSs. Results: The AHs for modeling a generic SCADA implementation and studying the Stuxnet cyberattack are useful for mapping attack vectors, identifying deficiencies in security processes and features, and evaluating proposed security solutions with respect to system objectives. Conclusion: Work domain analysis is an effective analytical method for studying cybersecurity of CPSs for critical infrastructures in a psychologically relevant manner. Application: Work domain analysis should be applied to assess cybersecurity risk and inform engineering and user interface design.

This article describes a study in which a popular systems analysis method was used to inform the design of a safety standard. Specifically, Work Domain Analysis was used to analyze and reorganise the structure of a safety standard for organisations providing adventure activities in Australia. Work Domain Analysis allowed for the identification of system objects, processes, functions, measures, and purposes, revealing limitations in the capacity of the proposed structure to achieve the safety standard’s intended purposes. Limitations included a high number of compliance requirements, a confusion between mandatory and optional requirements, a lack of educational support material, and no reliable means to measure system performance. The analysis was used to design an “ideal” structure for the safety standard. Key recommendations of the ideal structure were accepted for implementation, while others were not. The potential for future applications of Work Domain Analysis for regulatory system evaluation, reform, and design are discussed.

Operators need new visualizations to help them monitor increasingly complex power grids at wider geographical scopes. We developed a work domain analysis of power grid operations from interviews, focus groups, and observations. The work domain analysis helped determine information requirements for a wide-area monitoring design concept that follows ecological interface design principles. We validated the design concept in a usability evaluation, achieving an above-benchmark System Usability Scale score of 77 out of 90. This work domain analysis and ecological interface design process will equally apply to the design of other power grid monitoring displays.

Aircraft manufacturers and avionics systems suppliers are developing technologies for airliners that will be operated by just a single crew member. An alternative approach to using a large amount of on-board computing proposes the utilisation of extant technology derived from single-seat military aircraft and Uninhabited Air Systems where control is distributed in real time across the aircraft flight deck and ground stations (which supervise several aircraft simultaneously). Using a combination of operational event sequence diagrams and work domain analysis techniques, the allocation of tasks and requirements for the development of supporting technologies for such an operational architecture are identified in a low visibility taxi scenario. These analyses show that many of the functions undertaken by a second pilot in this situation are associated with checking, surveillance and monitoring activities. These must be undertaken either by automated aircraft systems or the monitoring personnel in the ground station. This analytical approach can successfully provide the necessary information underpinning the design requirements for such an aircraft concept.

Analysis of everyday work practices in sociotechnical systems for eliciting design/intervention requirements involves appropriate work analysis frameworks. The current article provides an extension to one such framework — Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) — by scrutinising its sociotechnical basis. CWA's forte depends on its ‘design for adaptation’, system related operations, and operators. In contrast, sociotechnical work systems require not only operators and adaptation, but also a significant emphasis on ‘users’ and ‘appropriation’. The current article extends CWA (based on Rasmussen's original concepts) for users; subsequently allowing for system flexibility and possibilities of ‘appropriation’ within acceptable boundaries of the system's correct functioning. To this end, the first phase of Work Domain Analysis is extended by adding a new layer to the abstraction hierarchy (AH), based on Rasmussen's original insights.

The central thesis of this paper is that Rasmussen framed his approach to Cognitive Systems Engineering from the perspective of a Triadic Semiotic Model. This frame became the context for integrating multiple intellectual threads including Control Theory, Information Theory, Ecological Psychology, and Gestalt Psychology into a coherent theoretical framework. The case is made that the triadic semiotic framework is essential for a complete appreciation of the constructs that were central to Rasmussen's approach: Abstraction Hierarchy, Skill-Rules-Knowledge Model, Ecological Interface Design, and Proactive Risk Management.

Netball is a newly professional women’s sport, as such there has been little research conducted investigating performance analysis (PA) in elite netball. The aim of this study was to develop a model of the elite netball performance system to identify the complex relationships among key performance indicators. Eleven elite subject matter experts (SMEs) participated in workshops to produce a systems model of the netball match performance. The model was developed using the work domain analysis (WDA) method. A model of the netball match performance system was produced showing the interrelated objects, processes, functions, values, and purposes involved in elite level netball matches. The model identified the components of elite level netball performance and the interactions and relationships between them. The output of this research has identified novel PA measures including passing and possession measures, measures of cognitive performance, and measures related to physical activity. Netball is a complex sport, involving multiple dynamic and interrelated components. Consequently, there is an opportunity to develop holistic PA measures that focus on interacting components, as opposed to components in isolation.

Using a work domain analysis and complementary thematic analysis, this paper aims to describe medication management work, its constraints, and complexities from the perspectives of family caregivers of children with medical complexity-a medically fragile segment of the pediatric population often dependent on multiple and complex medication regimens for survival and optimal functioning. Analyses were informed by data generated through observations of 12 care coordination clinic visits within a pediatric complex care program, semi-structured interviews of 11 family caregivers, and reviews of program documents. Our results show that family caregivers: (1) formulate medication management goals, identify values and criteria to judge goals but these may not necessarily be acknowledged and explicitly supported by system resources and healthcare professionals (2) are engaged in a range of complex medication management tasks that are both physically and emotionally demanding without the support of well-designed tools and resources to enhance their work.

Within the last decade, Para sport has experienced increased growth, global popularity, and scientific research. Likewise, there is increasing application of systems ergonomics methods to optimise sports performance. Despite this, few studies have attempted to analyse Para sport as a complex system. The aim of this study was to apply a systems ergonomics framework to redesign a current Para sport system via a multi staged approach. The Cognitive Work Analysis framework was used to model and redesign the Para sport system, via the insertion of design interventions. The findings offer insights into the complexity of the Para sport system via the multiple interacting factors that influence the performance of the system. In addition, the design interventions had substantial influence on the Para sport system by creating multiple new processes, functions, measures, and purposes, and enhanced multiple components of the existing system. This study provides a unique contribution to ergonomic science and extends system ergonomics theory and methods in sport. This study has practical implications for policy development by providing a template that can be used by others wanting to optimise able-bodied sport, Para sport, and non-sport systems.

The design and adoption of decision support systems within complex work domains is a challenge for cognitive systems engineering (CSE) practitioners, particularly at the onset of project development. This article presents an example of applying CSE techniques to derive design requirements compatible with traditional systems engineering to guide decision support system development. Specifically, it demonstrates the requirements derivation process based on cognitive work analysis for a subset of human spaceflight operations known as extravehicular activity. The results are presented in two phases. First, a work domain analysis revealed a comprehensive set of work functions and constraints that exist in the extravehicular activity work domain. Second, a control task analysis was performed on a subset of the work functions identified by the work domain analysis to articulate the translation of subject matter states of knowledge to high-level decision support system requirements. This work emphasizes an incremental requirements specification process as a critical component of CSE analyses to better situate CSE perspectives within the early phases of traditional systems engineering design.

We describe a structured method for decreasing the gap between cognitive work analysis (CWA) and sociotechnical systems design within industrial contexts. Key to closing this gap is reducing the volume of data collected during initial CWA stages so as to focus further development effort on the key determinants of system performance. The goal of the current study was to develop a method to accompany control task analysis (ConTA; and associated contextual activity templates [CATs]). The method developed, “activity prioritization,” involved a multifaceted procedure for prioritizing activities to identify each activity’s overall impact on system performance. Using three key values, each activity receives a priority score that is ordered to create an activity priority list. For the prioritization, the functions described in the CAT were the purpose-related functions identified via a work domain analysis of long haulage trucking. The method described was used to guide development of highly automated trucks within a recently completed industrial project (methods for designing future autonomous systems [MODAS]).

Recent research investigating diagnosis has generally relied upon one of two approaches to categorize and assess the antecedents of diagnostic error: (a) describing diagnostic error as a result of flaws in human cognition or (b) explaining diagnostic error as a result of working with complex health information systems. Each approach has uncovered important features that promote diagnostic error. However, each approach has inherent limitations, and integrating results from one approach to the other has proved difficult. In the current study, a cognitive engineering technique known as work domain analysis was implemented to provide a framework for uncovering the relationship between diagnosis, complex health systems, and theories of cognition and reasoning. The resulting model of diagnosis provides a comprehensive, novel perspective of the diagnostic process that offers a new foundation to formulate empirical inquiries about diagnosis and provides new avenues for the design and development of health information technologies, assessment strategies, and diagnosis-centered simulation paradigms.

The energy performance of large building portfolios is challenging to analyze and monitor, as current analysis tools are not scalable or they present derived and aggregated data at too coarse of a level. We conducted a visualization design study, beginning with a thorough work domain analysis and a characterization of data and task abstractions. We describe generalizable visual encoding design choices for time-oriented data framed in terms of matches and mismatches, as well as considerations for workflow design. Our designs address several research questions pertaining to scalability, view coordination, and the inappropriateness of line charts for derived and aggregated data due to a combination of data semantics and domain convention. We also present guidelines relating to familiarity and trust, as well as methodological considerations for visualization design studies. Our designs were adopted by our collaborators and incorporated into the design of an energy analysis software application that will be deployed to tens of thousands of energy workers in their client base.

In a safety–critical socio-technical system with Distributed Situation Awareness (DSA), it is important to secure effective communication among a number of agents for safe accomplishment of missions. Sharing a common mental model is essential for correct and efficient communication. A Common Operational Picture (COP), based on the network-based information technology, facilitates a shared mental model of the overall situation of the system for better cooperation in system-wide missions. The mental model of the functional structure of the system is very important because each user with a particular task and viewpoint has to access the COP where all system information is centralized and updated in real time. While avoiding information overload, a user should be able to recognize the relevant information intuitively according to one’s role and context and also access the information held by other users without confusion. In this paper, we describe a safety-oriented design process for a COP of weapon test missions that aims to support sharing of the mental model and efficient communication while controlling possible propagation of variability among the functions of the system. The multi-layered organization of system functions are analyzed by Work Domain Analysis (WDA) and the potential interaction among the functions in terms of variability is modeled by Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). The COP requirements developed by the proposed method include important design points that the previous system has missed. Finally, an exemplar COP design that dynamically presents the system status according to Abstraction Hierarchy (AH) and functional relations to facilitate a shared mental model and situation awareness is shown.

The purpose of this paper is to present results of the application of the Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) framework on the study of the ability of subject indexers in Croatian libraries to find and apply the necessary information in order to perform their work. The research was conducted in April and May 2013 on the sample of 10 subject indexers in five Croatian libraries. During the simulated indexing task, subject indexers were asked to index a few documents in the way they usually perform such tasks at work and to verbally describe their thoughts while performing that task. The analysis of the simulated task data revealed that the biggest problems and obstacles for Croatian subject indexers were related to information searching and retrieval of the final subject access point. Majority of subject indexers in the sample had pronounced difficulties in the search and retrieval phase of the task.

Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) has the potential to offer a contextually relevant, constraint-based perspective to the extravehicular activity (EVA) work domain, which is a proven critical component of human spaceflight. A work domain analysis (WDA) emphasizing the real-time execution of EVA is presented in this study as a first step towards establishing the EVA work domain within the CWA framework and guiding EVA decision support system design development. The results presented here define the EVA work domain boundary objects and illustrate the physical and operational constraints of the environment, hardware, and life support systems of the domain. Additionally, the WDA is used to guide potential avenues and identify functional needs for future EVA decision support system development.

As part of a broader industrial project, the first two stages of a Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA, Work Domain Analysis [WDA] and Control Task Analysis [ConTA]) were completed for Long Haul Commercial Road Transport. To support the potential uptake of CWA by different stakeholders within the industrial organization, parts of the ConTA Contextual Activity Template (CAT) were truncated. The goal of the current, exploratory study, was to identify which stakeholders within the industrial organization could benefit from using the WDA or CAT for either their Strategic (Research) or Product (Development) planning, and over what time horizon. We observed differences in the perceived usefulness of the WDA and the CAT between the different stakeholders. Innovative solutions to the issues raised should significantly enhance the industrial use of Cognitive Work Analysis.

Finance is a complex domain largely unexplored in the human factors literature. Modern financial trading systems involve a variety of coupled socio-technical systems (e.g. humans and technologies) and have become highly automated. Recent stock market crashes, such as the well-known Flash Crash, show automation-initiated dynamics. This suggests that a human factors understanding of this environment may be useful. In this article, we report an initial attempt to model buyer-side Automated Trading (AT) systems using a Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) approach. A Work Domain Analysis (WDA) model is presented to describe the automated financial trading domain. This work has implications for applying CWA to finance but also advances the understanding of how to model a highly automated domain.

Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs) are pervasive in businesses and critical infrastructures that are becoming targets of cyber attack by our adversaries. The presence of advanced persistent threats or zero-day attacks suggests that cyber defense must include recovery response from cyber intrusions. Recovery response must rely on adaptive ability of the CPS as the impact of zero-day attacks cannot be anticipated. In unanticipated situations, human adaptive ability can contribute greatly to the recovery from cyber intrusions. This paper presents Work Domain Analysis (WDA) as a human factors engineering tool for evaluating system and identifying solutions supporting operators in their response to cyber threats. The cyber attack on Australian Maroochy Water Services is used as illustrative case study to demonstrate the potential of WDA in enhancing cyber security of CPS.

Like most work systems, the domain of adventure activities has seen a series of serious incidents and subsequent calls to improve regulation. Safety regulation systems aim to promote safety and reduce accidents. However, there is scant evidence they have led to improved safety outcomes. In fact there is some evidence that the poor integration of regulatory system components has led to adverse safety outcomes in some contexts. Despite this, there is an absence of methods for evaluating regulatory and compliance systems. This article argues that sociotechnical systems theory and methods provide a suitable framework for evaluating regulatory systems. This is demonstrated through an analysis of a recently introduced set of adventure activity regulations. Work Domain Analysis (WDA) was used to describe the regulatory system in terms of its functional purposes, values and priority measures, purpose-related functions, object-related processes and cognitive objects. This allowed judgement to be made on the nature of the new regulatory system and on the constraints that may impact its efficacy following implementation. Importantly, the analysis suggests that the new system's functional purpose of ensuring safe activities is not fully supported in terms of the functions and objects available to fulfil them. Potential improvements to the design of the system are discussed along with the implications for regulatory system design and evaluation across the safety critical domains generally.

Medication safety and errors are a major concern in care homes. In addition to the identification of incidents, there is a need for a comprehensive system description to avoid the danger of introducing interventions that have unintended consequences and are therefore unsustainable. The aim of this study was to explore the impact and uniqueness of Work Domain Analysis (WDA) to facilitate an in-depth understanding of medication safety problems within the care home system and identify the potential benefits of WDA to design safety interventions to improve medication safety. A comprehensive, systematic and contextual overview of the care home medication system was developed for the first time. The novel use of the abstraction hierarchy (AH) to analyse medication errors revealed the value of the AH to guide a comprehensive analysis of errors and generate system improvement recommendations that took into account the contextual information of the wider system.It is widely acknowledged that a systems approach is necessary to improve medication safety. This study used a cognitive engineering method, Work Domain Analysis, to map the care home medication system and analyse medication errors. A macro-level view of the system was developed and this has provided a knowledge base for future interventions.

The focus of this manuscript is on cognitive systems engineering/ecological interface design (CSE/EID) and the role that this framework may play in improving system safety. First, the decision making and problem solving literatures are reviewed with an eye towards informational needs that are required to support these activities. The utility of two of Rasmussen's analytical tools (i.e., the abstraction and aggregation hierarchies) in conducting work domain analyses to identify associated information (i.e., categories and relationships) is discussed. The importance of designing ecological displays and interfaces that span the informational categories in the abstraction hierarchy is described and concrete examples are provided. The potential role that ecological interfaces can play in providing effective decision making (i.e., preventing accidents) and problem solving (i.e., dealing with accidents) support, thereby improving the safety of our socio-technical systems, is explored.

While the use of Work Domain Analysis as a methodological framework in cognitive engineering is increasing rapidly, verification and validation of work domain models produced by this method are becoming a significant issue. In this article, we propose the use of a method based on Turing machine formalism named “Turing Machine Task Analysis” to verify and validate work domain models. The application of this method on two work domain analyses, one of car driving which is an “intentional” domain, and the other of a ship water system which is a “causal domain” showed the possibility of highlighting improvements needed by these models. More precisely, the step by step analysis of a degraded task scenario in each work domain model pointed out unsatisfactory aspects in the first modelling, like overspecification, underspecification, omission of work domain affordances, or unsuitable inclusion of objects in the work domain model.

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is recognized, principally, for work domain analysis. Relatively little research has been directed at the remaining four phases of CWA and, as a result, the concepts of these phases of analysis are less well understood. This paper examines the concepts of all five phases of CWA with examples from a single ‘system’ – a home. A home is a highly familiar system that is characterized primarily by social or intentional constraints. The examples in this paper, therefore, complement the case study provided by Vicente (1999) of DURESS, a thermo-hydraulic microworld simulation that is defined largely by physical or causal constraints. In addition, this paper provides a starting point for examining several issues relating to the later phases of CWA, including whether or not they are useful or unique, their relationship to other approaches for work analysis, and methodological shortcomings.

The abstraction hierarchy analysis tool developed by Vicente and Rasmussen (1992) for Ecological Interface Design (EID) provides an in depth understanding of work domain constraints and information requirements. EID and work domain analysis (WDA) have been successfully applied in several fields. However, application in the medical domain has proven to be much more difficult. This study examines the relationships between three components within the OR: the surgical team, medical equipment, and the patient. It is hypothesized that crisis management failure in the OR is due to attentional mis-allocation and can be undone by re-directing team members' attention to the appropriate level of information structure. We propose a novel structure, based on existing work domain models for the operating room, to analyze the behavior of OR teams and map their attention allocation within the abstraction hierarchy to explain fixation during medical problem solving and crisis management.

Lind (2003) has offered a critical analysis of Work Domain Analysis as executed in Cognitive Work Analysis. I review his critique and conclude that relatively few of his arguments have merit. Work Domain Analysis has a unique role to play within Cognitive Engineering. Although only some of the issues raised by Lind require resolution, consideration of those selected issues would be useful for the development of Cognitive Work Analysis.

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is gaining recognition as a promising approach for the analysis, design, and evaluation of complex, sociotechnical systems. However, the successful and widespread application of work domain analysis (WDA), the first phase of CWA, is limited by the lack of a coherent theoretical approach. This paper addresses a number of theoretical issues relating to WDA, including differences in the approaches of Rasmussen, Pejtersen & Goodstein (1994) and Vicente (1999), and it illustrates these theoretical issues 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 the area; and facilitate the application of WDA to large-scale, industry projects.

This paper demonstrates that work domain analysis (WDA), a cognitive engineering approach based on Rasmussen's abstraction hierarchy (AH) framework, is a valuable and alternate analytic tool for analyzing human-computer interaction (HCI) in complex work domains through a case study. In the case study, we use WDA to examine automation awareness, an HCI issue in automated flight decks. The case study shows that WDA provides an effective approach to systematically assess collected human factors data in order to identify the gaps in satisfying the work requirements across interrelated factors. It helps assess the adequacy of domain information provided to workers via training in order to build a fairly accurate and effective mental model, adequacy of domain information presented to workers at the interface, and the adequacy of operation procedures designed for workers to copy with unfamiliar situations. Finally, WDA also helps generate needs for enhancements of existing systems from a work domain perspective.

The products of cognitive analysis are rarely used effectively in the design of complex, first-of-a-kind systems. This project is motivated by the assumption that those products do not explicitly reveal their design the implications. On the other hand, the analyses undertaken by Systems Engineers do not capture the essential properties of cognitive requirements. The work described here is aimed at developing a computer-supported system that can support dialog between Cognitive Engineers and Systems Engineers as they seek to resolve design issues surrounding cognitive requirements. This project is in its first phase. The preliminary work has demonstrated how a Brahms model might be used to develop a prototype of a socio-technical system based on cognitive specifications developed from a Work Domain Analysis.

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is gaining recognition as a promising approach for the analysis, design, and evaluation of complex, sociotechnical systems. The successful and widespread application of CWA, however, is limited by the lack of a well-defined methodology. This paper proposes a methodology for performing work domain analysis (WDA), the first phase of CWA, and it illustrates this methodology 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 the area; and facilitate the application of WDA to large-scale, industry projects.

A Work Domain Analysis involves the context independent representation of work domain resources as a field for action. However, formal knowledge may not represent all of the resources available to workers in practice. Thus expert knowledge is essential to an accurate inventory of work domain resources. Most knowledge elicitation methods involve self-reports, which are subject to bias. This paper presents video-cued recall as a technique that may reduce bias. This technique proved useful as part of a Work Domain Analysis of the intensive care unit patient work domain.

Interaction Design Centre, Middlesex University, London, UK Much electrical generation in the developed world is now conducted within deregulated energy markets, providing new layers of uncertainty for human controllers and new challenges for analysts wishing to understand and support cognitive work. In this paper we outline some of the challenges encountered when attempting to describe the work domain of hydroelectric power generation in a dynamic deregulated electricity market. The market component of the work domain analysis appears not to be readily amendable to breakdown as a familiar functional structure. Control task analysis is complicated by the fact that the human operator is the frontline, real-time, manager of business risk. Different epochs of planning may require separate functional structures.