Cognitive Work Analysis : Toward Safe, Productive, and Healthy Computer-Based Work - 99 edition

"Thanks to crisp language, extensive and detailed examples, and an even-handed statement of both the strengths and weaknesses of his approach, Dr. Vicente has provided the clearest articulation of the emerging discipline of Cognitive Work Analysis that I've seen. This book greatly expands the foci of analyses for interface design--something that's needed doing for some time now--yet it provides a principled framework for integrating those analyses in productive ways. Best of all, Vicente never loses sight of the need to usefully apply the results of analysis, thereby making this book a valuable tool for industrial human factors engineers as well as those in academia."

-- Dr. Christopher A. Miller Honeywell Technology Center

"For years, Jens Rasmussen and his Danish colleagues have pioneered the analysis of cognitive work, developing a framework for understanding how people interact with complex systems. Rasmussen's work has been extremely influential within the small circle of experts on human-machine systems research. In this important book, Kim Vicente provides a detailed review of Rasmussen's contributions, putting them into the broader context of research and practice within cognitive science, cognitive engineering, human factors and ergonomics, and psychology. Vicente has added great value to the original work, putting it all together into a coherent theoretical framework, buttressed by case studies that show how the theory is grounded in practice. The approach is of immense theoretical and practical value: had the techniques been followed, major industrial accidents could either have been avoided or their impact minimized. This book is an important contribution to our understanding of human activity, of the design of systems, and to the interplay of theory and practice within the cognitive sciences."

-- Donald A. Norman Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Diego, and Management Consultant on Human-Centered Design, author of The Invisible Computer

"While I felt symphathetic to Rasmussen's goal and approach, until reading Vicente's book I had no coherent overarching picture of what Rasmussen was really up to. Vicente's book admirably remedied this deficiency. The content, organization, readability, and pedagogy of this book are all excellent. I also like Vicente's humility appropriately coupled with his advocacy. It was a pleasure reading the book, which taught me a great deal."

-- Stuart E. Dreyfus Professor Emeritus of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, University of California at Berkeley, and coauthor of Mind Over Machine

"Currently, there is a resurgence of interest in the context of work and its application to design. A number of recent books are full of good practical advice on field studies and task analysis. To my mind, none provide the scope and theoretical structure that Professor Vicente does. His approach brings a coherence and breadth that will help practitioners as well as researchers."

-- Marshall McClintock, PhD Usability Group Manager, Microsoft Corporation

"Vicente's book contains crisp language, extensive and detailed examples, and an even-handed statement of both the strengths and weaknesses of his approach. It is the clearest articulation of the emerging discipline of Cognitive Engineering that I've seen. Best of all, Vicente never loses sight of the need to usefully apply the results of analysis, thereby making this book a valuable tool for human factors engineers in industry, as well as those in academia."

-- Christopher A. Miller, PhD Senior Principal Research Scientist, User Centered Design, Honeywell Technology Center

"For some time now, I have been interested in the work of Jens Rasmussen and Kim Vicente. A dive into their work is a must for all cognitive engineers/psychologists within the field of man-machine interaction. What has been lacking from their work however, is an overall framework. What is the relation between the SRK taxonomy, direct perception, the decision ladder etc.? In this book Kim Vicente presents such a unifying framework for a 'formative' approach to design of complex sosiotechnical systems. The first five chapters brilliantly summarise the problems related to the current establishment within the field. Normative approaches and a representational approach to human cognition neccesarily leads to problems of how to design for the unanticipated. For those familiar with the EID approach, buy this book NOW. For those who are not, I would recomend also reading some of the earlier material."

-- Thomas Hoff, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Lawerence Erlbaum Publishing Web Site, July, 2002

J. Rasmussen, Foreword
Preface

Part I: Introduction

What's in a Word? (Glossary)
What's the Problem?
Scope and Criteria for Success
Why Work Analysis? An Ecological Perspective

Part II: Three Approaches to Work Analysis

Normative Approaches to Work Analysis: "The One Best Way?" Descriptive Approaches to Work Analysis: "What Workers Really Do."
Toward a Formative Approach to Work Analysis: "Workers Finish the Design.""

Part III: Cognitive Work Analysis in Action

Case Study: Process Control
Phase 1: Work Domain Analysis
Phase 2: Control Tasks Analysis
Phase 3: Strategies Analysis
Phase 4: Social Organization and Cooperation Analysis
Phase 5: Worker Competencies Analysis
Implications for Design and Research

Part IV: Final Words

Designing for Adaptation: Safety, Productivity, and Health and the Global Knowledge-Based Economy
Appendix: Historical Addendum