Cognitive Systems Engineering / Edition 1

by Jens Rasmussen, Annelise Mark Pejtersen, L. P. Goodstein

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780471011989
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	09/28/1994
Series:	Wiley Series in Systems Engineering and Management , #14
Pages:	396
Product dimensions:	6.34(w) x 9.51(h) x 0.93(d)

About the Author

About the authors JENS RASMUSSEN was a research professor of cognitive systems engineering at Risø National Laboratory and the Technical University of Copenhagen, following 25 years as the head of the Electronics Department at Risø National Laboratory (then Atomic Energy Research Establishment Risø). 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 Risø 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 Risø 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.

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

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. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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