Beyond interface design: Further applications of cognitive work analysis

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is gaining momentum as an approach for the analysis, design, and evaluation of complex sociotechnical systems. The majority of applications of CWA have focussed on interface design but in this paper we demonstrate that CWA can also be used for a variety of other applications. These applications include the use of CWA to: identify training needs and training-system requirements; evaluate alternative system design proposals; develop team designs; and identify training strategies for managing human error. By discussing how CWA has been employed in these areas for the Australian Department of Defence, this paper demonstrates that CWA can consistently produce feasible and useful outcomes on industry projects for applications other than interface design. Relevance to industry This paper demonstrates the application of CWA to a variety of industry projects for analysing training needs and training-system requirements, evaluating alternative system design proposals, developing team designs, and identifying training strategies to manage human error. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.