Supporting Work in Hurricane Management Centers: An Application of Cognitive Systems Engineering Techniques

摘要

Real world settings frequently involve teamwork, computer systems embedded within a work setting, and multiple levels of complexity wherein distributed cognition (Hutchins, 1994) is highly prevalent. Complexity can grow and cause workers to lose control of situations when there are hidden constraints that shape cognitive/collaborative processes (Hollnagel, 1998; Rasmussen, Pejtersen, & Goodstein, 1994). Unfortunately, the technology (or computer tools) to support distributed cognition may not consider these dynamic, constraining conditions and in turn may cause critical failure or errors in the system. Two distinct connotations embedded within distributed cognition are important to assess and evaluate with respect to this issue. The first is that cognition is dispersed across time and space (i.e., teams collaborate remotely and independently). The second is that cognition is not confined within the head of an isolated, single individual but is constructed, situated, and distributed across team members, objects, and environments. The Living Lab framework (McNeese; in press) is an comprehensive, integrative approach for studying distributed cognition through a cyclic progression of ethnography, knowledge elicitation, scenario/scaled world development, and participant design to progressively deepen understanding of how constraints may shape collaborative activities within distributed work.. The Living Lab enacts a cognitive systems engineering methodology predicated on a). problem-based learning and b) shared construction of knowledge and design. The Living Lab (see Figure 1.) employs these elements incorporating both theory and practice to develop designs that promote intrinsic understanding from a user-centric perspective while being useful and usable (Woods, 1998).