Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is a framework that was developed to

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

a complex

sociotechnical system Sociotechnical systems (STS) in organizational development is an approach to complex organizational work design that recognizes the interaction between people and technology in workplaces. The term also refer to coherent systems of human relatio ...

Modeling of system constraints

The framework models different types of

constraint Constraint may refer to: * Constraint (computer-aided design), a demarcation of geometrical characteristics between two or more entities or solid modeling bodies * Constraint (mathematics), a condition of an optimization problem that the solution ...

s, building a model of how work could proceed within a given work system. The focus on constraints separates the technique from other approaches to analysis that aim to describe how work is actually conducted, or prescribe how it should be conducted. The CWA approach can be used to describe the constraints imposed by the purpose of a system, its functional properties, the nature of the activities that are conducted, the roles of the different human actors, and their

cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thoug ...

skills and strategy.

Application

Rather than offer a prescribed methodology, the CWA framework instead acts as a toolkit that can be used either individually or in combination with one another, depending upon the analysis needs. These tools are divided between phases. The exact names and scopes of these phases differ slightly dependent on the scope of the analysis. However, the overall scope remains largely the same. As defined by Vicente (1999), the CWA framework comprises five different phases: work domain analysis, control task (or activity) analysis, strategies analysis, social organisation and co-operation analysis, and the

Industrial & Organizational Assessment Individual psychological assessment (IPA) is a tool used by organizations to make decisions on employment. IPA allows employers to evaluate and maintain potential candidates for hiring, promotion, and development by using a series of job analys ...

. The different tools within the CWA framework have been used for a plethora of different purposes, including system modelling, system design, process design,

training needs analysis Training Analysis (sometimes called Training Needs Analysis (TNA)) is the process of identifying the gap in employee training and related training needs. Introduction Training Need Analysis (TNA) is the process of identifying the gap between em ...

, training design and evaluation, interface design and evaluation,{{Cite book, title = Ecological Interface Design, vauthors = Burns CM, Hajdukiewicz J , publisher = CRC Press, year = 2004, isbn = 9780415283748, location = Boca Raton, Florida information requirements specification, tender evaluation, team design, and error management training design. Despite its origin within the nuclear power domain, the CWA applications referred to above have taken place in a wide range of different domains, including naval, military, aviation, driving, and health care domains.

Research and design aims

It is especially difficult to prescribe a strict procedure for the CWA framework. In its true form, the framework is used to provide a description of the constraints within a domain. This description can then be used to address specific research and design aims.

Modeling of system constraints

Application

Research and design aims

References

See also