Cognitive systems engineering

Short description: Field of study

Cognitive systems engineering (CSE) is an interdisciplinary field that examines the intersection of people, work, and technology, with a particular focus on safety-critical systems. The central tenet of CSE is to treat collections of people and technologies as a single unified entity—called a joint cognitive system (JCS)—capable of performing cognitive work rather than as separate human and technological components. The field was formally established in the early 1980s by Erik Hollnagel and David Woods.[1]

Unlike cognitive engineering, which primarily applies cognitive science to design technological systems that support user cognition, CSE takes a more holistic approach by analyzing how cognition is distributed across entire work systems. This perspective emphasizes understanding the functional relationships between humans and technology in complex operational environments such as air traffic control, medical systems, nuclear power plants, and other high-risk contexts.[2]

CSE draws on theoretical foundations from multiple disciplines including cognitive psychology, cognitive anthropology, systems theory, and ecological psychology. Key intellectual influences include Edwin Hutchins's distributed cognition, James Gibson's ecological theory of visual perception, Ulric Neisser's perceptual cycle, and William Clancey's situated cognition.[3] The field has also been shaped by Jens Rasmussen's work on human error and abstraction hierarchy.

Methodologically, CSE employs techniques such as cognitive task analysis,[4] cognitive work analysis,[5] and work domain analysis to understand how cognition is distributed across human and technological agents. These approaches focus on identifying system constraints and designing for resilience rather than merely preventing errors.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 "Cognitive systems engineering" vs "Cognitive engineering"
* 2 Themes
* 2.1 Joint cognitive systems
* 2.2 Studying work in context
* 2.3 Coping with complexity
* 2.4 Anomaly response
* 2.5 Coordination
* 2.6 Cognitive artifacts
* 3 Founders and Foundational Contributors
* 4 Books
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 External links
* 7.1 Journals

## History

Cognitive systems engineering emerged in the wake of the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident.[6] At the time, existing theories about safety were unable to explain how the operators at TMI could be confused about what was actually happening inside of the plant.[7]

Following the accident, Jens Rasmussen did early research on cognitive aspects of nuclear power plant control rooms.[8] This work influenced a generation of researchers who would later come to be associated with cognitive systems engineering, including Morten Lind, Erik Hollnagel, and David Woods.[6]

Following the publication of a textbook on cognitive systems engineering by Kim Vicente in 1999 the techniques employed to establish a cognitive work analysis (CWA) were used to aid the design of any kind of system were humans have to interact with technology. The tools outlined by Vicente were not tried and tested, and there are few if any published accounts of the five phases of analysis being implemented.[9]

### "Cognitive systems engineering" vs "Cognitive engineering"

The term "cognitive systems engineering" was introduced in a 1983 paper by Hollnagel and Woods.[1]

Although the term cognitive engineering had already been introduced by Don Norman, Hollnagel and Woods deliberately introduced new terminology. They were unhappy with the framing of the term cognitive engineering, which they felt focused too much on improving the interaction between humans and computers, through the application of cognitive science. Instead, Hollnagel and Woods wished to emphasize a shift in focus from human-computer interaction to joint cognitive systems as the unit of analysis.[10]

Despite the intention by Hollnagel and Woods to distinguish cognitive engineering from cognitive systems engineering, some researchers continue to use the two terms interchangeably.[11]

## Themes

### Joint cognitive systems

See also: Extended mind thesis

As mentioned in the Origins section above, one of the key tenets of cognitive systems engineering is that the base unit of analysis is the joint cognitive system. Instead of viewing cognitive tasks as being done only by individuals, CSE views cognitive work as being accomplished by a collection of people coordinating with each other and using technology to jointly perform cognitive work as a system.[1]

### Studying work in context

CSE researchers focus their studies on work in situ, as opposed to studying how work is done in controlled laboratory environments.[12] This research approach, known as macrocognition, is similar to the one taken by naturalistic decision-making. Examples of studies of work done in context include Julian Orr's ethnographic studies of copy machine technicians,[13] Lucy Suchman's ethnographic studies of how people use photocopiers,[14] Diane Vaughan's study of engineering work at NASA in the wake of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster,[15] and Scott Snook's study of military work in the wake of the 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident.[16]

### Coping with complexity

A general thread that runs through cognitive systems engineering research is the question of how to design joint cognitive systems that can deal effectively with complexity, including common patterns in how such systems can fail to deal effectively with complexity.[17][12][18][19]

### Anomaly response

As mentioned in the Origins section above, CSE researchers were influenced by TMI. One specific application of coping with complexity is the work that human operators must do when they are supervising a process such as nuclear power plant, and they must then deal with a problem that arises. This work is sometimes known as anomaly response[12][20] or dynamic fault management.[21] This type of work often involves uncertainty, quickly changing conditions, and risk tradeoffs in deciding what remediation actions to take.

### Coordination

Because joint cognitive systems involve multiple agents that must work together to complete cognitive tasks, coordination is another topic of interest in CSE. One specific example is the notion of common ground[22] and its implications for building software that can contribute effectively as agents in a joint cognitive system.[23]

### Cognitive artifacts

CSE researchers study how people use technology to support cognitive work and coordinate this work across multiple people. Examples of such cognitive artifacts, which have been studied by researchers, include "the bed book" used in intensive care units,[24] "voice loops" used in space operations,[25] "speed bugs" used in aviation,[26] drawings and sketches in engineering work,[27] and the various tools used in marine navigation.[28]

Of particular interest to CSE researchers is how computer-based tools influence joint cognitive work,[29] in particular the impact of automation,[30] and computerized interfaces used by system operators.[31]

## Founders and Foundational Contributors

* Erik Hollnagel*
* David Woods*
* Robert Hoffman
* Philip Smith
* Jens Rasmussen
* Emily Roth
* Gary Klein

## Books

* Cognitive Systems Engineering: The Future for a Changing World by Philip J. Smith and Robbert R. Hoffman, eds. 2017
* Joint Cognitive Systems: Patterns in Cognitive Systems Engineering by David Woods and Erik Hollnagel, 2005. 978-0849328213
* Joint Cognitive Systems: Foundations of Cognitive Systems Engineering by Erik Hollnagel and David Woods, 2005. 978-0367864156
* Cognitive Systems Engineering by Jens Rasmussen, Annelise Mark Pejtersen, and L.P. Goodstein, 1994.

## See also

* Cognitive work analysis
* Ecological interface design

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hollnagel, Erik; Woods, David D. (June 1983). "Cognitive Systems Engineering: New wine in new bottles" (in en). International Journal of Man-Machine Studies 18 (6): 583–600. doi:10.1016/S0020-7373(83)80034-0. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0020737383800340.
2. ↑ Woods, David D.; Hollnagel, Erik (2006). Joint Cognitive Systems: Patterns in Cognitive Systems Engineering. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-2821-4.
3. ↑ Flach, John (2020). A meaning processing approach to cognition: what matters?. Fred Voorhorst. New York, NY. ISBN 978-0-367-40428-4. OCLC 1117930294.
4. ↑ Crandall, Beth (2006). Working minds: a practitioner's guide to cognitive task analysis. Gary A. Klein, Robert R. Hoffman. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-27092-2. OCLC 76064684.
5. ↑ Vicente, Kim J. (1999). Cognitive work analysis: toward safe, productive, and healthy computer-based work. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-585-16171-2. OCLC 44961122.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Klein, G.; Wiggins, S.; Deal, S. (March 2008). "Cognitive Systems Engineering: The Hype and the Hope". Computer 41 (3): 95–97. doi:10.1109/MC.2008.81. ISSN 0018-9162. Bibcode: 2008Compr..41c..95K.
7. ↑ Cook, Richard (2014-02-05), 1\. It all started at TMI, 1979, https://vimeo.com/85909644, retrieved 2022-09-23
8. ↑ Jens Rasmussen (1986). Information processing and human-machine interaction : an approach to cognitive engineering. North-Holland. ISBN 0444009876. OCLC 13792295.
9. ↑ Applications of Cognitive Work Analysis. CRC Press. 2016. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9781420063059.
10. ↑ Philip J. Smith; Robert R. Hoffman (2018). Cognitive systems engineering : the future for a changing world. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781472430496. OCLC 987070476.
11. ↑ DOWELL, JOHN; LONG, JOHN (1998-02-01). "Target Paper: Conception of the cognitive engineering design problem". Ergonomics 41 (2): 126–139. doi:10.1080/001401398187125. ISSN 0014-0139. https://doi.org/10.1080/001401398187125.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Woods, D. (2019). JOINT COGNITIVE SYSTEMS : patterns in cognitive systems engineering.. [Place of publication not identified]: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-367-86415-6. OCLC 1129755331.
13. ↑ Orr, Julian E. (2016). Talking about Machines : an Ethnography of a Modern Job.. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-0740-7. OCLC 1030353116.
14. ↑ Suchman, Lucy (2009). Human-machine reconfigurations : plans and situated actions. Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-521-85891-5. OCLC 902661378.
15. ↑ Vaughan, Diane (4 January 2016). The Challenger launch decision : risky technology, culture, and deviance at NASA. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-34682-3. OCLC 944938820.
16. ↑ A., Snook, Scott (2011). Friendly Fire : the Accidental Shootdown of U.S. Black Hawks over Northern Iraq.. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4097-7. OCLC 749265018.
17. ↑ Hollnagel, Erik (2005). Joint cognitive systems : foundations of cognitive systems engineering. David D. Woods. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-8493-2821-7. OCLC 309875728.
18. ↑ Rasmussen, Jens; Lind, Morten (1981). Coping with complexity. Risø-M. Risø National Laboratory. https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/55672721/ris_m_2293.pdf.
19. ↑ Hollnagel, Erik (2012-09-01). "Coping with complexity: past, present and future" (in en). Cognition, Technology & Work 14 (3): 199–205. doi:10.1007/s10111-011-0202-7. ISSN 1435-5566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-011-0202-7.
20. ↑ "Cognitive Work of Hypothesis Exploration During Anomaly Response - ACM Queue". https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3380778.
21. ↑ WOODS, DAVID D. (1995-11-01). "The alarm problem and directed attention in dynamic fault management". Ergonomics 38 (11): 2371–2393. doi:10.1080/00140139508925274. ISSN 0014-0139. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139508925274.
22. ↑ Klein, Gary; Feltovich, Paul J.; Bradshaw, Jeffrey M.; Woods, David D. (2005-06-27), "Common Ground and Coordination in Joint Activity", Organizational Simulation (Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.): pp. 139–184, doi:10.1002/0471739448.ch6, ISBN 9780471739449, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/0471739448.ch6, retrieved 2022-09-24
23. ↑ Klien, G.; Woods, D.D.; Bradshaw, J.M.; Hoffman, R.R.; Feltovich, P.J. (November 2004). "Ten challenges for making automation a "team player" in joint human-agent activity". IEEE Intelligent Systems 19 (6): 91–95. doi:10.1109/MIS.2004.74. ISSN 1941-1294. Bibcode: 2004IISys..19f..91K.
24. ↑ "BEING BUMPABLE (by R. I. Cook)", Joint Cognitive Systems (CRC Press): pp. 33–46, 2006-03-27, doi:10.1201/9781420005684-8, ISBN 978-0-429-12766-3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781420005684-8, retrieved 2022-09-24
25. ↑ Patterson, Emily S.; Watts-Perotti*, Jennifer; Woods, David D. (December 1999). "Voice Loops as Coordination Aids in Space Shuttle Mission Control" (in en). Computer Supported Cooperative Work 8 (4): 353–371. doi:10.1023/A:1008722214282. ISSN 0925-9724. PMID 12269347. http://link.springer.com/10.1023/A:1008722214282.
26. ↑ Hutchins, Edwin (July 1995). "How a Cockpit Remembers Its Speeds". Cognitive Science 19 (3): 265–288. doi:10.1207/s15516709cog1903_1. ISSN 0364-0213.
27. ↑ Henderson, Kathryn (October 1991). "Flexible Sketches and Inflexible Data Bases: Visual Communication, Conscription Devices, and Boundary Objects in Design Engineering" (in en). Science, Technology, & Human Values 16 (4): 448–473. doi:10.1177/016224399101600402. ISSN 0162-2439. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/016224399101600402.
28. ↑ Hutchins, Edwin (1995). Cognition in the wild. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-27597-2. OCLC 44965743.
29. ↑ Henderson, Kathryn (1999). On line and on paper : visual representations, visual culture, and computer graphics in design engineering. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-27525-5. OCLC 42856204.
30. ↑ Bainbridge, Lisanne (1983-11-01). "Ironies of automation" (in en). Automatica 19 (6): 775–779. doi:10.1016/0005-1098(83)90046-8. ISSN 0005-1098. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0005-1098(83)90046-8.
31. ↑ Woods, David D. (September 1984). "Visual momentum: a concept to improve the cognitive coupling of person and computer" (in en). International Journal of Man-Machine Studies 21 (3): 229–244. doi:10.1016/S0020-7373(84)80043-7. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0020737384800437.

## External links

### Journals

* Cognition, Technology & Work
* International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
* Ergonomics
* Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): The Journal of Collaborative Computing and Work Practices

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