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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.

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.

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.

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.

Sustainability is a systems problem with humans as integral elements of the system. However, sustainability problems usually have a broader scope than socio-technical systems and therefore, require additional considerations. This requires a fuller integration of complex systems understanding into the systems analysis toolset currently available to human factors and ergonomics. In this paper, we outline these complex systems requirements necessary to tackle global problems such as sustainability and then assess how three common systems analysis tools (i.e. Accimap, System Theoretic Accident Mapping and Processes, and Cognitive Work Analysis) stand up against these revised criteria. This assessment is then further explored through applying two of these tools (i.e. Accimap and System Theoretic Accident Mapping and Processes) to a transnational food integrity system problem. This case study shows that no single systems analysis method can be used in isolation to help identify key insights for intervention and that new methods may need to be developed or existing methods need to be adapted to understand these dynamic, adaptive systems. The implications for the further development of systems analysis tools are discussed. Practitioner summary: We assess the applicability of existing human factors and ergonomics systems-analysis tools for examining global problems and for identifying points to intervene in these systems. We comment on what extensions and further work will be required to enable human factors and ergonomics to intervene effectively. Abbreviations: HFE: human factors and ergonomics; CO2: carbon dioxide; CO: carbon monoxide; O3: ozone; SSoS: sustainable system-of-systems; BSE: bovine spongiform encephalopathy; STAMP: systems-theoretic accident model; CWA: cognitive work analysis; WDA: work domain analysis; ConTA: control task analysis; StrA: strategies analysis; SOCA: social and organisation cooperation analysis; SOCA-CAT: social and organisation cooperation analysis contextual analysis template; SOCA-DL: social and organisation cooperation analysis decision ladder; WOP: work organisation possibilities; FRAM: functional resonance analysis method; US FDA: United States Food and Drug Administration; UK: United Kingdom; NET-HARMS: networked hazard analysis and risk management system; PreMiSTS: predicting malfunctions in socio-technical systems.

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.

People experience the world around them in vastly different ways through a diverse range of sensory inputs and outputs. The purpose of this research was to explore a sociotechnical systems approach to support sensory urban design and establish an archetype model for public space design and evaluation. The research involved the construction of a Work Domain Analysis, the first phase of the systems analysis approach, Cognitive Work Analysis. The resultant model incorporates key sensory design principles to build an in-depth and integrated understanding of accessible, engaging and inclusive public space. The model was then applied to two existing public spaces to assess the impact of a holistic sensory design approach. Key findings illustrate the importance of integrating sensory design elements into public spaces to achieve increased levels of sensory affordance for all users, regardless of ability.

BackgroundA telemedicine service enabling remote surgical consultation had shown promising results. When the service was to be scaled up, it was unclear how contextual variations among different clinical sites could affect the clinical outcomes and implementation of the service. It is generally recognized that contextual factors and work system complexities affect the implementation and outcomes of telemedicine. However, it is methodologically challenging to account for context in complex health care settings. We conducted a work domain analysis (WDA), an engineering method for modeling and analyzing complex work environments, to investigate and represent contextual influences when a telemedicine service was to be scaled up to multiple hospitals. ObjectiveWe wanted to systematically characterize the implementation contexts at the clinics participating in the scale-up process. Conducting a WDA would allow us to identify, in a systematic manner, the functional constraints that shape clinical work at the implementation sites and set the sites apart. The findings could then be valuable for informed implementation and assessment of the telemedicine service. MethodsWe conducted observations and semistructured interviews with a variety of stakeholders. Thematic analysis was guided by concepts derived from the WDA framework. We identified objects, functions, priorities, and values that shape clinical procedures. An iterative “discovery and modeling” approach allowed us to first focus on one clinic and then readjust the scope as our understanding of the work systems deepened. ResultsWe characterized three sets of constraints (ie, facets) in the domain: the treatment facet, administrative facet (providing resources for procedures), and development facet (training, quality improvement, and research). The constraints included medical equipment affecting treatment options; administrative processes affecting access to staff and facilities; values and priorities affecting assessments during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; and resources for conducting the procedure. ConclusionsThe surgical work system is embedded in multiple sets of constraints that can be modeled as facets of the system. We found variations between the implementation sites that might interact negatively with the telemedicine service. However, there may be enough motivation and resources to overcome these initial disruptions given that values and priorities are shared across the sites. Contrasting the development facets at different sites highlighted the differences in resources for training and research. In some cases, this could indicate a risk that organizational demands for efficiency and effectiveness might be prioritized over the long-term outcomes provided by the telemedicine service, or a reduced willingness or ability to accept a service that is not yet fully developed or adapted. WDA proved effective in representing and analyzing these complex clinical contexts in the face of technological change. The models serve as examples of how to analyze and represent a complex sociotechnical context during telemedicine design, implementation, and assessment.

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...

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.

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 design of IT systems for complex work environments is essential for workers to be able to operate more effectively and efficiently. To design a system that supports the workers' specific tasks we need to understand the work demands and the context in which the system operates. However, this is a difficult task because of the dynamic nature of complex systems. The thesis investigates how the cognitive work analysis (CWA) framework (Vicente, 1999) can be applied to understand a domain under transformation by (1) developing methods to manage challenges associated with applying CWA to real-world complex systems and (2) investigating how models from the CWA framework can be used to contend with the moving target for development. The studies are carried out within two quite different application domains: long-haul driving and health care. An activity prioritization method was suggested as a useful technique to focus the analyzing efforts during the analysis of tasks and strategies. However, adaption to practical constraints has to be done thoughtfully in order not to lose the value of the analysis. Moreover, workshops were proposed as a means to bridge the gap between the analysis and design by finding design metaphors and possible future work strategies from the domain knowledge of the drivers. Third, a study was done using the abstraction hierarchy (AH) to learn about digitization in health care, which is an example of ongoing change in a work domain. The AH was also adapted to model health IT systems as a means to provide an overview and consistent vision of strategic decisions. Using the AH as an overview of sub-systems that were developed by different organizations or organizational units would make it possible to identify collaboration needs or a lack of connectivity and integration between systems. The AH can therefore be applied to support the development of an IT system that is to be part of a transforming work domain.

The degree of automation in rail transit is increasing rapidly. The main responsibility of people in the subway system is transformed into monitoring. A well-designed alarm unit is a guarantee for improving the performance of personnel. By analyzing the sociotechnical complexity of the Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) system besides its alarm unit, the work domain analysis model is constructed. In the process of system model construction, the function allocation between human and automation system was considered. And the human-computer interaction interface of ATS alarm unit was redesigned. Further, the initial verification was carried out by subject matter experts in Skill-Rule-Knowledge framework. Results from this study preliminarily confirmed the reference role of cognitive work analysis in human-automation function allocation design.

There is increasing interest in the adoption of a complex systems thinking approach when attempting to understand and optimize sports performance. Despite this, few studies have attempted to model elite sports organizations. The aim of this study was to use methods from the Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) framework to develop a model of an elite netball organization and identify wider organizational functions and constraints influencing performance. Two phases of CWA were used: (i) Work Domain Analysis (WDA); and, (ii) Social Organization and Co-operation Analysis (SOCA). A WDA model of the elite netball organization was developed via subject matter expert (SME) workshops, and a SOCA was undertaken to identify the different functions, roles, and responsibilities of key actors within the organization. The findings identify various factors that influence performance. Functions that appear to provide a competitive edge are discussed, including a strong club ethos, a shared responsibility for performance, and a focus on player and staff health and well-being. Factors that potentially have a negative impact on performance include organizational priorities not related to playing netball, and additional coach and athlete roles beyond coaching, training, and playing. The implications for understanding and optimizing elite sports organizations are discussed.

Accessible design of railway vehicles is a public safety concern. As a formative approach of work analysis, Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) is applied in this paper to better understand the accessible design constrains and cognitive behavior of barrier-free passengers. CWA offers an integrated way of analyzing complex systems with the core of functional means-ends analysis to understand socio-technical systems. In this paper, work domain analysis and control task analysis are applied to the accessible design of railway vehicles which illustrate how the CWA can be conducted in this complex socio-technical system. In combination with CWA outputs and human factors design methods, this paper proposes a design method framework of accessible for railway vehicles form three aspects: space, facilities and information. A case study was introduced to demonstrates that the CWA-based accessible design framework is both effective and applicable.

The integration of Industry 4.0 technologies must consider the place of the operator in the production. In this paper, we adopt a human-machine cooperation perspective for modelling operator 4.0 in industrial systems. Our approach is supported by Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) method. We used three phases of the CWA: Work Domain Analysis (WDA), Control Task Analysis (ConTA), and Social Organization and Cooperation Analysis (SOCA), to model the functional and cognitive constraints as well as the function allocation. The paper especially uses two modeling tools - Abstraction Hierarchy and Decision Ladder - that could support the positioning and the design of Technology 4.0-based assistance systems. This model is applied to the specific activity of orders picking. This activity integrates both function of planning and organization of the different production lots and these functions can be shared between order picker 4.0 and specific Industry 4.0 technologies.

Recent university campus developments in the UK represented capital investments of more than 3 billion GBP in 2016/2017. They are, driven by the need to provide an excellent student experience and the prevalence of student-centric learning approaches. These developments, need to prove effective in use, promote institutional ethos and image, prove efficient in terms of resource use, make effective uses of learning technologies, and support its users. This has placed pressure on campus planning professionals to ensure the development of satisfactory solutions to meet multiple, and sometimes conflicting, stakeholder requirements. This paper sets out to explore the application of sociotechnical systems, in particular Work Domain Analysis (WDA), as a novel approach to model and understand these complex requirements, and thus, support campus design professionals develop new learning spaces and facilities. A first iteration of WDA is developed based on the review of recent learning space design guidelines, the analysis policies and documents from the HEI, and through interviews with stakeholders. The results provide insights on the complex criteria and general functions that informal learning spaces need to meet. This initial template is expected to serve as the basis of a holistic assessment of the effectiveness of existing and prospective campus developments. The initial findings show promise in regard to the suitability and applicability of WDA as a complementing instrument for early design stages of learning environments and facilities.

Operating a small carry-on unmanned aerial system (UAS) alone is challenging. Research on facilitating single-operator work has focused mainly on payload operation and health monitoring. Little focus has been given to mission-related aspects and how the command and control (C2) map display contributes to mission accomplishment. This study uses cognitive work analysis (CWA) to describe the operational work of the mission operator of a Skylark miniature UAS system. Three CWA phases were conducted – work domain analysis, control task analysis and strategy analysis – providing a rich framework of operational mission phases, task components, processes and the physical interface-objects in use. These representations highlight the operators' extensive use of the C2 map during all mission phases, for all object-related processes. To further enhance the outcomes of the CWA, and prior to outlining specific design requirements, an empirical investigation was conducted in which the eye movements of five experienced operators were obtained during a simulated mission. The empirical results confirm and further specify the work patterns that operators adopt. Quantitative analysis shows operators’ extensive focus on the map, especially during mission-critical phases. These analyses led to the conclusion that a significant change in the way operators interact with the C2 map, or alternative designs to enhance map-based information utilization, should be applied. Insights drawn from this analysis can be applied to other aerial surveillance work domains, and adding empirical evaluations is helpful to further refine and reinforce the CWA outcomes.

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.

Self service check-in is a new service that has been given by the airlines for passenger. This service is able to minimize the use of manpower in the airport and reduce the time consuming for passenger to do the requirement before flying. Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) is expected to extract the phases and explore the parts that implied to the system. CWA is a method to analyse an industrial complex system which is useful for industrial design. CWA divided into five stages which outlined different function in each stages those are work domain analysis, control task analysis, strategies analysis, social organization and cooperation analysis, and worker competencies analysis. This research used brainstorming as qualitative method and got several results such as there are five categories that implied in the WDA, five categories involved on CTA, seven categories on SOCA, and nine categories implied on WCA.

Being able to perform good data analysis is a fundamental part of running any business or organization. One way of enabling data analysis is with a data warehouse system, a type of database that gathers and transforms data from multiple sources and structures it in the goal of simplifying analysis. It is commonly used to provide support in decision-making. Although a data warehouse enables data analysis, it is also relevant to consider how well the system supports analysis. This thesis is a qualitative research that aims to investigate how work domain analysis (WDA) can be used to evaluate the design of a data warehouse system. To do so, a case study at the IT company Norconsult Astando was performed. A data warehouse system was designed for an issue management system and evaluated using the abstraction hierarchy (AH) model. The research done in this thesis showed that analysis was enabled by adopting Kimball’s bottom-up approach and a star schema design with an accumulating snapshot fact table. Through evaluation of the design, it was shown that most of the design choices made for the data warehouse were captured in the AH. It was concluded that with sufficient data collection methods, WDA can be used to a large extent when evaluating a data warehouse system.

This thesis addresses the problem of designing complex systems by proposing an approach integrating, as soon as possible, the integration of human factors discipline into system engineering problematics.To do this, we propose to approach the complex systems designing activity through models, which can come from both systems engineering and human factors disciplines.This approach has the advantages of not only being able to be conducted early in the system engineering lifecycle, but also facilitate the exploration of solutions without necessarily going through experimentation processes.We focus on integrating the work domain analysis, the first step of the Cognitive Work Analysis framework, into system engineering designing methods. By its independence of situation and actors, we demonstrate that the work domain analysis is a relevant and original approach for system engineering, especially in the early stages of the design lifecycle. This approach integrates into the user-centered design iterative approach, and in this sense, it improves the consideration of the Human-System Integration approach.The relevance of our approach is justified by experimentations and it is validated by two applications on concrete study cases of air transport system.; Cette thèse aborde le problème de conception de systèmes complexes en proposant une approche qui intègre au plus tôt la prise en compte des problématiques des facteurs humains à celles de l’ingénierie système. Pour cela, nous proposons d'aborder l'activité de conception de systèmes complexes par le biais des modèles, ceux-ci pouvant provenir aussi bien du monde de l'ingénierie système que celui des facteurs humains. Cette approche a pour avantages de non seulement pouvoir être conduite très tôt dans un cycle d'ingénierie système, mais aussi de favoriser l'exploration de solutions sans forcément passer par des étapes d’expérimentation. Nous nous concentrons sur l'intégration de l'analyse du domaine, première étape de la méthode Cognitive Work Analysis, dans les méthodes d'ingénierie système. Par ses caractéristiques d’indépendance vis-à-vis des situations et des acteurs, nous montrons que l'analyse du domaine constitue une approche pertinente et originale pour l’ingénierie système, particulièrement lors les stades précoces du cycle de vie de conception. Elle s'intègre dans une démarche itérative de conception centrée utilisateur, et en ce sens, elle améliore la prise en considération de l'approche "Intégration Homme-Système". La pertinence de notre approche est justifiée par une série d’expérimentations et est validée par une application sur un cas concret de système de transport aérien.

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.

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.

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.

This thesis addresses the problem of designing complex systems by proposing an approach integrating, as soon as possible, the integration of human factors discipline into system engineering problematics.To do this, we propose to approach the complex systems designing activity through models, which can come from both systems engineering and human factors disciplines.This approach has the advantages of not only being able to be conducted early in the system engineering lifecycle, but also facilitate the exploration of solutions without necessarily going through experimentation processes.We focus on integrating the work domain analysis, the first step of the Cognitive Work Analysis framework, into system engineering designing methods. By its independence of situation and actors, we demonstrate that the work domain analysis is a relevant and original approach for system engineering, especially in the early stages of the design lifecycle. This approach integrates into the user-centered design iterative approach, and in this sense, it improves the consideration of the Human-System Integration approach.The relevance of our approach is justified by experimentations and it is validated by two applications on concrete study cases of air transport system., Cette thèse aborde le problème de conception de systèmes complexes en proposant une approche qui intègre au plus tôt la prise en compte des problématiques des facteurs humains à celles de l’ingénierie système. Pour cela, nous proposons d'aborder l'activité de conception de systèmes complexes par le biais des modèles, ceux-ci pouvant provenir aussi bien du monde de l'ingénierie système que celui des facteurs humains. Cette approche a pour avantages de non seulement pouvoir être conduite très tôt dans un cycle d'ingénierie système, mais aussi de favoriser l'exploration de solutions sans forcément passer par des étapes d’expérimentation. Nous nous concentrons sur l'intégration de l'analyse du domaine, première étape de la méthode Cognitive Work Analysis, dans les méthodes d'ingénierie système. Par ses caractéristiques d’indépendance vis-à-vis des situations et des acteurs, nous montrons que l'analyse du domaine constitue une approche pertinente et originale pour l’ingénierie système, particulièrement lors les stades précoces du cycle de vie de conception. Elle s'intègre dans une démarche itérative de conception centrée utilisateur, et en ce sens, elle améliore la prise en considération de l'approche "Intégration Homme-Système". La pertinence de notre approche est justifiée par une série d’expérimentations et est validée par une application sur un cas concret de système de transport aérien.

This chapter describes the extent to which cognitive work analysis (CWA) can facilitate the requirements analysis and specification process. It provides a link between the requirements specification process and CWA. The CWA comprises five phases: work domain analysis (WDA), control task analysis (ConTA), strategies analysis (StrA), social organisation and cooperation analysis (SOCA) and worker competencies analysis (WCA). Although the CWA process comprises five stages, it is argued that the abstraction hierarchy (AH) constructed in the WDA stage and the AH informed SRK inventory developed in the worker competencies stage are the most applicable. The chapter also describes which parts of a CWA can be applied, and how that application should proceed, to specify requirements that lead to usable, functionally relevant, affordable systems that minimise post-deployment redesign, and that do not necessitate extensive training schedules. In order to demonstrate the CWA approach, the chapter considers a real case study based on mission communications planning.