This chapter presents an overview of the current state of cognitive task analysis (CTA) in research and practice. CTA uses a variety of interview and observation strategies to capture a description of the explicit and implicit knowledge that experts use to perform complex tasks. The captured knowledge is most often transferred to training or the development of expert systems. The first section presents descriptions of a variety of CTA techniques, their common characteristics, and the typical strategies used to elicit knowledge from experts and other sources. The second section describes research on the impact of CTA and synthesizes a number of studies and reviews pertinent to issues underlying knowledge elicitation. In the third section, we discuss the integration of CTA with training design. Finally, in the fourth section, we present a number of recommendations for future research and conclude with general comments.

Cognitive task analysis

Contents: Introduction. Part I: Task Analysis Processes. What Is Task Analysis? Selecting Tasks for Analysis. Classifying Knowledge and Skills From Task Analysis. Part II: Job, Procedural, and Skill Analysis Methods. Task Description. Procedural Analysis. Job Task Analysis. Functional Job Analysis. Part III: Instructional and Guided Learning Analysis Methods. Learning Hierarchy (Prerequisites) Analysis. Information Processing Analysis. Learning Contingency Analysis. Part IV: Cognitive Task Analysis Methods. Goals, Operators, Methods, & Selection (GOMS). Prediction, Actions, Results, Interpretation (PARI). Decompose, Network, and Assess (DNA). Cognitive Simulations. Case-Based Reasoning. Part V: Activity-Based Methods. Activity Theory. Syntactic Analysis. Critical Incident/Critical Decision Methods. Task Knowledge Structures. Part VI: Subject Matter/Content Analysis Methods. Conceptual Graph Analysis. Master Design Chart. Matrix Analysis. Repertory Grid Technique. Fault Tree Analysis. Part VII: Knowledge Elicitation Techniques. Documentation Analysis. Observation. Survey Questionnaires. Interviews. Think-Aloud Protocols. Unstructured Group Interviews: Focus Groups and Brainstorming. Structured Group Interviews: Delphi Technique.

Task Analysis Methods for Instructional Design

From the Book:

Focusing on human performance in organizational systems as cognitive engineering principles are applied, these eight chapters describe cognitive research at RISO from 1962-1979, the development of adaptability, the use of pathfinder networks, cognitive task analysis, human modeling technology, critical thinking in novel situations, the use of simulations for team research, and research paradigms. The authors are affiliated with various American universities, private companies, and the military. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Advances in Human Performance and Cognitive Engineering Research

We describe an Affect and Belief Adaptive Interface System (ABAIS) designed to compensate for performance biases caused by users' affective states and active beliefs. The ABAIS architecture implements an adaptive methodology consisting of four steps: sensing/inferring user affective state and performance-relevant beliefs; identifying their potential impact on performance; selecting a compensatory strategy; and implementing this strategy in terms of specific GUI adaptations. ABAIS provides a generic adaptive framework for integrating a variety of user assessment methods (e.g. knowledge-based, self-reports, diagnostic tasks, physiological sensing), and GUI adaptation strategies (e.g. content- and format-based). The ABAIS performance bias prediction is based on empirical findings from emotion research combined with detailed knowledge of the task context. The initial ABAIS prototype was demonstrated in the context of an Air Force combat task, used a knowledge-based approach to assess the pilot's anxiety level, and adapted to the pilot's anxiety and belief states by modifying selected cockpit instrument displays in response to detected changes in these states.

Assessment of User Affective and Belief States for Interface Adaptation: Application to an Air Force Pilot Task

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Cognitive task analysis and modeling of decision making in complex environments.

: The development of support of decision making processes in complex systems requires a systematic approach based upon knowledge of the human's role, capabilities, and the tasks to be performed. Results from a survey and a workshop show that there is a need for methodologies that systematically address the cognitive factors of complex task situations. COADE provides the developer and cognitive specialist with an approach to the development of cognitively-centered systems. The COADE framework comprises a set of activities for cognitive analysis, design and evaluation. Analysis activities result in the specification of cognitive requirements; design activities translate those into design requirements; evaluation activities control the quality of the intermediate and final products of the development process.

G. Dorfel

Papers

COADE: A Framework for Cognitive Analysis, Design, and Evaluation.