Powerful information technologies and the complex support systems they engender are evolving faster than people's ability to adjust to them. In the workplace, this leads to troublesome task performance, added stress on users, increased organizational inefficiency, and, in some cases, a heightened risk of wide-scale disaster. In the marketplace, it makes for consumer dissatisfaction. Clearly, traditional human-computer interaction (HCI) and system design (SD) solutions to this dilemma have proven woefully inadequate. What is needed is a fresh multidisciplinary approach offering a broader, more dynamic framework for assessing needs and designing usable, efficient systems. Taking modeling concepts from engineering, psychology, cognitive science, information science, and computer science, cognitive systems engineering (CSE) provides such a framework. This book is the first comprehensive guide to the emerging new field of CSE. Providing equal parts theory and practice, it is based on the authors' many years of experience with work systems in a wide range of work domains, including process control, manufacturing, hospitals, and libraries. Throughout, the emphasis is on powerful analytical techniques that enhance the systems designer's ability to see the "big picture", and to design for all crucial aspects of human-work interaction. Applicable to highly structured technical systems such as process plants, as well as less structured user-driven systems like libraries, these analytical techniques form the basis for the evaluation and design guidelines that make up the bulk of this book. And since the proof is in the pudding, the authors provide a chapter-length case history in which theydemonstrate the success of their approach when applied to a full-scale software design project. The project, a retrieval system for public libraries, is described in detail, from field studies to concept validation experiments, and, of course, the empirical evaluation of the syste

A comprehensive guide to the emerging field of cognitive systems engineering. Throughout, the emphasis is on analytical techniques that enhance the systems designer's ability to see the "big picture" and to design for all crucial aspects of human-work interaction. Applicable to highly structured technical systems such as process plants, as well as less structured user-driven systems like libraries, these analytical techniques form the basis for the design and design evaluation guidelines that make up the bulk of the volume. A chapter- length case history chronicles the success of the approach when applied to a full-scale software design project.
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The first comprehensive guide to designing highly usable, fully integrated computer-based information systems… Traditional human-computer interaction (HCI) and system design models have proven too narrow to adequately assess user needs and to design usable and efficient computer-based information support systems. Taking modeling concepts from engineering, psychology, cognitive science, information science, and computer science, cognitive systems engineering (CSE) provides a much broader, more dynamic framework. This book is the first comprehensive guide to the emerging new field of cognitive systems engineering. Throughout, the emphasis is on powerful analytical techniques that enhance the systems designer’s ability to see the "big picture," and to design for all crucial aspects of human-work interaction. Applicable to highly structured technical systems such as process plants, as well as less structured user-driven systems like libraries, these analytical techniques form the basis for the design and design evaluation guidelines that make up the bulk of this book. The authors also provide a chapter-length case history in which they chronicle the success of their approach when applied to a full-scale software design project.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 349-364) and index.

About the authors JENS RASMUSSEN was a research professor of cognitive systems engineering at Ris? National Laboratory and the Technical University of Copenhagen, following 25 years as the head of the Electronics Department at Ris? National Laboratory (then Atomic Energy Research Establishment Ris?). Since 1962, he has conducted research in the areas of reliability and risk factors, human reliability, work domain taxonomy, human-machine interaction, and ecological information systems design. A distinguished leader in the aforementioned fields, he has chaired a number of groups of international experts appointed to assess risk and human-machine interaction in nuclear and other hazardous industries. He is now a consultant in cognitive systems engineering and risk management. ANNELISE MARK PEJTERSEN is a Senior Scientist with the Cognitive Systems Group at Ris? National Laboratory. She was an acting professor at the Royal School of Librarianship and manager of the Danish Labor Union's Center for Informatics. Her main areas of expertise developed from the early 1970s and include the taxonomy of work domains, cognitive engineering methods for system design and evaluation, cognitive work analysis, multimedia interfaces, ecological interface design, information indexing and retrieval, and the analysis and modeling of user behavior. She holds several prizes for her results in the design and evaluation of information retrieval systems based on field studies. L. P. GOODSTEIN was a senior scientist of the Electronics Department of Ris? National Laboratory for 25 years. He started work in the human-machine area in the early 1960s by designing and operationally evaluating a control console including dynamic graphic displays for a nuclear reactor. His fields of expertise include the analysis, design, and evaluation of decision support systems, human-computer interfaces, information displays for process control, and the design and use of process simulators for human-machine system research. He is now a consultant in human-machine systems design and evaluation.

Work Domain Analysis.

Activity Analysis.

Analysis of Work Organization and System Users.

User-Work Coupling.

At the Periphery of Effective Coupling: Human Error.

The Design Process and Its Guidance.

Evaluation of Design Concepts and Products.

Design of a Library System.

BookHouse Design: Data Base and User Dialogue.

BookHouse Design: Interface Displays.

BookHouse Evaluation.

Catalog of Annotated Displays.

References.

Index.