cognitive systems engineering

Cognitive systems engineering emerged in the wake of the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident.{{Cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=G. |last2=Wiggins |first2=S. |last3=Deal |first3=S. |date=March 2008 |title=Cognitive Systems Engineering: The Hype and the Hope |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4476234 |journal=Computer |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=95–97 |doi=10.1109/MC.2008.81 |s2cid=38587194 |issn=0018-9162|url-access=subscription }} 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.{{Citation |last=Cook |first=Richard |title=1. It all started at TMI, 1979 |date=2014-02-05 |url=https://vimeo.com/85909644 |access-date=2022-09-23}}

Following the accident, Jens Rasmussen did early research on cognitive aspects of nuclear power plant control rooms.{{Cite book | author1=Jens Rasmussen |title=Information processing and human-machine interaction : an approach to cognitive engineering |date=1986 |publisher=North-Holland |isbn=0444009876 |oclc=13792295}} 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.

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.{{Cite book|title= Applications of Cognitive Work Analysis | editor1=Ann M. Bisantz | editor2= Catherine M. Burns |publisher= CRC Press |year=2016 |isbn=9781420063059 | pages=1–2}}

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

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.{{Cite book |title=Cognitive systems engineering : the future for a changing world |date=2018 | author1=Philip J. Smith | author2=Robert R. Hoffman |publisher=CRC Press, Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781472430496 |oclc=987070476}}

Despite the intention by Hollnagel and Woods to distinguish cognitive engineering from cognitive systems engineering, some researchers continue to use the two terms interchangeably.{{Cite journal |last1=DOWELL |first1=JOHN |last2=LONG |first2=JOHN |date=1998-02-01 |title=Target Paper: Conception of the cognitive engineering design problem |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/001401398187125 |journal=Ergonomics |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=126–139 |doi=10.1080/001401398187125 |issn=0014-0139|url-access=subscription }}

{{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.

CSE researchers focus their studies on work in situ, as opposed to studying how work is done in controlled laboratory environments. 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,{{Cite book |author=Orr, Julian E. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1030353116 |title=Talking about Machines : an Ethnography of a Modern Job. |date=2016 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-0740-7 |oclc=1030353116}} Lucy Suchman's ethnographic studies of how people use photocopiers,{{Cite book |first=Lucy |last=Suchman |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/902661378 |title=Human-machine reconfigurations : plans and situated actions |date=2009 |publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-521-85891-5 |oclc=902661378}} Diane Vaughan's study of engineering work at NASA in the wake of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster,{{Cite book |author=Vaughan, Diane |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/944938820 |title=The Challenger launch decision : risky technology, culture, and deviance at NASA |date=4 January 2016 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-34682-3 |oclc=944938820}} and Scott Snook's study of military work in the wake of the 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident.{{Cite book |last=A. |first=Snook, Scott |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/749265018 |title=Friendly Fire : the Accidental Shootdown of U.S. Black Hawks over Northern Iraq. |date=2011 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-4097-7 |oclc=749265018}}

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.{{Cite book |last=Hollnagel |first=Erik |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/309875728 |title=Joint cognitive systems : foundations of cognitive systems engineering |date=2005 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |others=David D. Woods |isbn=0-8493-2821-7 |location=Boca Raton, FL |oclc=309875728}}{{Cite book |last=Woods |first=D. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1129755331 |title=JOINT COGNITIVE SYSTEMS : patterns in cognitive systems engineering. |date=2019 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-367-86415-6 |location=[Place of publication not identified] |oclc=1129755331}}{{Cite journal |last1=Rasmussen |first1=Jens |last2=Lind |first2=Morten |date=1981 |title=Coping with complexity |url=https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/55672721/ris_m_2293.pdf |journal= |publisher=Risø National Laboratory |volume=Risø-M |issue=2293}}{{Cite journal |last=Hollnagel |first=Erik |date=2012-09-01 |title=Coping with complexity: past, present and future |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-011-0202-7 |journal=Cognition, Technology & Work |language=en |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=199–205 |doi=10.1007/s10111-011-0202-7 |s2cid=15222531 |issn=1435-5566|url-access=subscription }}

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{{Cite web |title=Cognitive Work of Hypothesis Exploration During Anomaly Response - ACM Queue |url=https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3380778 |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=queue.acm.org}} or dynamic fault management.{{Cite journal |last=WOODS |first=DAVID D. |date=1995-11-01 |title=The alarm problem and directed attention in dynamic fault management |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139508925274 |journal=Ergonomics |volume=38 |issue=11 |pages=2371–2393 |doi=10.1080/00140139508925274 |issn=0014-0139|url-access=subscription }} This type of work often involves uncertainty, quickly changing conditions, and risk tradeoffs in deciding what remediation actions to take.

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{{Citation |last1=Klein |first1=Gary |title=Common Ground and Coordination in Joint Activity |date=2005-06-27 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/0471739448.ch6 |work=Organizational Simulation |pages=139–184 |place=Hoboken, NJ, USA |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |access-date=2022-09-24 |last2=Feltovich |first2=Paul J. |last3=Bradshaw |first3=Jeffrey M. |last4=Woods |first4=David D.|doi=10.1002/0471739448.ch6 |isbn=9780471739449 |url-access=subscription }} and its implications for building software that can contribute effectively as agents in a joint cognitive system.{{Cite journal |last1=Klien |first1=G. |last2=Woods |first2=D.D. |last3=Bradshaw |first3=J.M. |last4=Hoffman |first4=R.R. |last5=Feltovich |first5=P.J. |date=November 2004 |title=Ten challenges for making automation a "team player" in joint human-agent activity |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1363742 |journal=IEEE Intelligent Systems |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=91–95 |doi=10.1109/MIS.2004.74 |s2cid=27049933 |issn=1941-1294|url-access=subscription }}

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,{{Citation |title=BEING BUMPABLE (by R. I. Cook) |date=2006-03-27 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781420005684-8 |work=Joint Cognitive Systems |pages=33–46 |publisher=CRC Press |doi=10.1201/9781420005684-8 |isbn=978-0-429-12766-3 |access-date=2022-09-24|url-access=subscription }} "voice loops" used in space operations,{{Cite journal |last1=Patterson |first1=Emily S. |last2=Watts-Perotti* |first2=Jennifer |last3=Woods |first3=David D. |date=December 1999 |title=Voice Loops as Coordination Aids in Space Shuttle Mission Control |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1023/A:1008722214282 |journal=Computer Supported Cooperative Work |language=en |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=353–371 |doi=10.1023/A:1008722214282 |pmid=12269347 |s2cid=5341838 |issn=0925-9724}} "speed bugs" used in aviation,{{Cite journal |last=Hutchins |first=Edwin |date=July 1995 |title=How a Cockpit Remembers Its Speeds |journal=Cognitive Science |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=265–288 |doi=10.1207/s15516709cog1903_1 |s2cid=9409426 |issn=0364-0213|doi-access=free }} drawings and sketches in engineering work,{{Cite journal |last=Henderson |first=Kathryn |date=October 1991 |title=Flexible Sketches and Inflexible Data Bases: Visual Communication, Conscription Devices, and Boundary Objects in Design Engineering |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/016224399101600402 |journal=Science, Technology, & Human Values |language=en |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=448–473 |doi=10.1177/016224399101600402 |s2cid=111281029 |issn=0162-2439|url-access=subscription }} and the various tools used in marine navigation.{{Cite book |last=Hutchins |first=Edwin |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44965743 |title=Cognition in the wild |date=1995 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-27597-2 |location=Cambridge, Mass. |oclc=44965743}}

Of particular interest to CSE researchers is how computer-based tools influence joint cognitive work,{{Cite book |last=Henderson |first=Kathryn |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/42856204 |title=On line and on paper : visual representations, visual culture, and computer graphics in design engineering |date=1999 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-27525-5 |location=Cambridge, Mass. |oclc=42856204}} in particular the impact of automation,{{Cite journal |last=Bainbridge |first=Lisanne |date=1983-11-01 |title=Ironies of automation |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0005-1098%2883%2990046-8 |journal=Automatica |language=en |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=775–779 |doi=10.1016/0005-1098(83)90046-8 |s2cid=12667742 |issn=0005-1098|url-access=subscription }} and computerized interfaces used by system operators.{{Cite journal |last=Woods |first=David D. |date=September 1984 |title=Visual momentum: a concept to improve the cognitive coupling of person and computer |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0020737384800437 |journal=International Journal of Man-Machine Studies |language=en |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=229–244 |doi=10.1016/S0020-7373(84)80043-7|url-access=subscription }}

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

• 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.

• Cognitive work analysis
• Ecological interface design

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.springer.com/journal/10111 Cognition, Technology & Work]
• [https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-journal-of-human-computer-studies International Journal of Human-Computer Studies]
• [https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/terg20 Ergonomics]
• [https://www.springer.com/journal/10606 Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW): The Journal of Collaborative Computing and Work Practices]

Category:Systems engineering