A sociotechnical design toolkit for bridging the gap between systems‐based analyses and system design

Abstract

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is a systems-based framework for analyzing complex sociotechnical systems; however, its ability to directly inform design has been questioned. The Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit (CWA-DT) was developed to address this gap. This study describes the development, application, and evolution of the CWA-DT and examines the extent to which it provides a useful approach to design. The evaluation draws upon five case-study applications. In three applications, involving the design of public transport ticketing systems, railway level crossing environments and road intersections, the toolkit was used in conjunction with CWA.In addition, we present two case studies where the CWA-DT was used with other systems-based analysis frameworks (for the design of incident prevention strategies for led outdoor activities and systemic interventions to improve road safety) to illustrate the flexibility of the toolkit. Based on feedback from participants involved in CWA-DT design processes, it is concluded that it provides a useful approach for translating human factors analyses into design concepts. Additional applications and adaptations of the approach are encouraged. K E Y W O R D S cognitive systems engineering, cognitive work analysis, design methods, design strategies, transportation

Evaluating the reduced flight deck crew concept using cognitive work analysis and social network analysis: comparing normal and data-link outage scenarios

“…Against this background, legacy issues will be always apparent in reducing the crew of an existent system. We start at the specific following stage in the design process as outlined in ISO 9241-2010 (ISO/TC 159/SC 4 Ergonomics of human-system interaction 2010) and the CWA Design Toolkit (CWA-DT; Read et al 2015aRead et al , 2016Read et al , 2018. The ISO/TC 159/SC 4 represents an industrial norm for human-centred design principles throughout the life cycle of computer-based interactive systems whereas the CWA-DT is a design approach on how to practically include CWA' results into the design process itself.…”

A holistic outcome-based approach to co-create healthcare systems.

“…However, the application of CWA to directly inform design requirements is scarce. A CWA design-oriented toolkit has been used satisfactorily in transport contexts (Read et al, 2018), but there is not yet the evidence in the healthcare context. Authors acknowledge that the toolkit still needs exploration to "generate designs for first-of-a-kind systems" (Read et al, 2018).…”

“…A CWA design-oriented toolkit has been used satisfactorily in transport contexts (Read et al, 2018), but there is not yet the evidence in the healthcare context. Authors acknowledge that the toolkit still needs exploration to "generate designs for first-of-a-kind systems" (Read et al, 2018). Additionally, there is an opportunity to expand this toolkit with a specific tool to tackle the outcome level in-depth.…”

“…Some systems thinking frameworks have created synergies with design to mitigate those gaps (Holden et al, 2013;Jones, 2014;Read, Salmon, Goode, & Lenné, 2018). Design has contributed to more practical strategies for deeper engagement and collaboration with multiple stakeholders to co-produce interventions (Tsekleves & Cooper, 2017), and has refined visual strategies to manage and communicate complex messages (Sevaldson, 2018).…”

The relevance of U.S. Strategic Highway Safety Plans in a future context

“…Consequently, hazardous industries have progressively and thoroughly adopted system approaches to manage safety efficiently and effectively. Modern reliability engineering and safety management in complex safety-critical industries have developed and adopted sophisticated, multidimensional and comprehensive approaches based on systems theory [11,31,41–43]. As a result, current safety management in these industries is indeed based on systems theory and best practice that broadens the choice of policy tools that can be applied to all components (or parts) that comprise the system being managed [11,31,44,45].…”