WHAT THE COGNITIVE TASK ANALYSTS DON'T TELL YOU

摘要

With the advent of complex computerised systems, the tasks that the human operator carries out have become more and more cognitive. In response to this, the human factors analyst has had to change the focus of an analysis of tasks from the physical processes to the mental processes. A review of the literature shows that many authors have conducted Cognitive Task Analyses (CTAs), but few of these have described the methodology used. Those who have described the methodology often fail to describe how the data is used to generate findings and make recommendations. This paper attempts to explain, with reference to selected examples, how findings and recommendations are implicitly based on the understanding the analyst has of widely known and accepted theories of cognition.