Cognitive Engineering of a New Telephone Operator Workstation Using COGNET

Abstract

Many cognitive engineering methodologies for user-centered design involve modeling procedural knowledge; others deal with domain semantics or conceptual models. COGNET (COGnitive NEwork of Tasks) is a framework for modeling human cognition and decision-making which provides an integrated representation of the knowledge, behavioral actions, strategies and problem solving skills used in a domain or task situation, yielding a powerful cognitive engineering tool. A case study of the design of the user interface for a new telephone operator workstation is presented to illustrate the derivation of the design from the components of the COGNET model. The model does not directly convey any specific feature of the interface design, but rather a formal representation of the what the user must do with the resulting interface. This information is then evolved through a set of transformations which systematically move toward design features, in a fully traceable manner.

A Roadmap for Cognitive Engineering in Systems Engineering

“…In one successful application, Computational Cognitive Modeling (Ryder et al, 1998) was used to design a telephone operator workstation where the jobs of multiple telephone operators were combined into a single role. Since each individual job was previously performed using a different workstation, the problem was to design a new workstation that supported all of the jobs -while maximizing call-processing efficiency and minimizing retraining of existing operators.…”

An Outsider's View of Cognitive Ergonomics

“…In any event, CE does seem to require the gathering and analysis of much user information prior to the initiation of actual design. The COGNET computerization of telephone operations (Ryder et al, 1996) demanded the analysis of 12 hours of recorded telephone calls. The problem with such an intensive information gathering effort is that it takes an inordinate amount of time, and engineering designers are pushed by schedules (and their own impatience to become concrete) to proceed to the consideration of design options as quickly as possible.…”