Cognitive and Tasks PDF

Cognitive and Tasks Learning objective: To relate the human cognitive to the design of human-machine system. 1  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 1. Task analysis 2. Cognitive task analysis 3. Critical decision...

Cognitive and Tasks Learning objective: To relate the human cognitive to the design of human-machine system. 1  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 1. Task analysis 2. Cognitive task analysis 3. Critical decision method 4. Team performance model 5. Team communication analysis 2  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 1. Task analysis Task analysis is an important tool that enables designers to consider the human factors implications of new technology. It breaks a task down into its component task steps, actions or cognitive processes. The task analysis can provide an understanding of human-human and human-machine interactions. It has been used for a wide variety of purposes including training, job design, and equipment design. 3  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 1. Task analysis Table 1: Task analysis and its development Year Description 1900s Task analysis was used to analyse the nature of tasks in an attempt to find areas in which the performance of tasks could be more efficient 1950s Ergonomics began to emerge as a stand-alone discipline and new theories of human performance and assessment 1960s Task analysis had combination of psychology and engineering principles to break down tasks into their component physical and mental elements. The task analysis aimed to understand and improve performance, identify problems at various stages of task performance, and propose potential solutions. Present The complexity of task performance has increased along with an increase in workplace. So does the task analysis. 4 Figure 1: A logical flow of information from the scenario to the final performance. 5  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 2. Cognitive task analysis Cognitive task analysis (CTA) is an extension of traditional task analysis, examining cognitive expertise, using techniques including interviews, observations and questionnaires. Critical jobs (e.g., air traffic controller, power plant operator, medical operating room staff) involve complex knowledge and cognitive activity such as monitoring, situation assessment, planning, deciding, anticipating, and prioritizing. 6  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 2. Cognitive task analysis (continue) The CTA can provide extensive information often used to develop instructional materials, decision support systems, and cognitive ergonomics. CTA aims to determine the explicit and implicit knowledge experts use to solve problems or perform tasks within their respective domains. CTA attempts to determine the sequence of actions, decisions, classifications, and strategies that enable experts to perform complex tasks with speed and accuracy. 7  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 2. Cognitive task analysis (continue) 4 types of cognitive task analysis: Observation and interviews that involve watching experts and discussing their performance and methodology. This method is relatively informal, and allows the analyst more flexibility to ask questions and probe the expert’s performance. 8  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 2. Cognitive task analysis (continue) Process tracing, which is a more formal and structured method in which an analyst provides an expert with a specific task and analyzes the expert’s performance either with a concurrent think-aloud protocol or recall discussion. Conceptual techniques that work within tightly structured methodologies that provide formal knowledge representations of a domain, such as card sorting tasks. 9  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 2. Cognitive task analysis (continue) Formal models, which are modelling approaches that generate software-based simulations to replicate the cognitive processes utilized during performance. The objective is to validate a process formalization through software code that accurately replicates the performance of human experts. 10  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Case study of cognitive task analysis How to recognise a kick: A cognitive task analysis of drillers’ situation awareness during well operations (Roberts et al., 2016). The case study uses applied cognitive task analysis (ACTA), which is a streamlined version of CTA. The ACTA provides a practical approach that links the demands of the domain as revealed by the cognitive analysis to the elements of a decision-support system. 11  COGNITIVE AND TASKS What is kick detection? Should a kick be recognised, the driller is required to remotely close the blow out preventer equipment on the sea floor to prevent the highly pressurized hydrocarbons from travelling up to the rig and resulting in a blowout known as shutting in. Similarly, should a kick indicator be recognized, the driller is required to assess the integrity of the well by observing whether the flow from the well is stable, referred to as a flow check. Example of kick happened in the Macondo blowout. 12  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Case study of cognitive task analysis (continue) The researchers interested to understand drillers’ situational awareness for kick detection. 3 drillers with 25 years of experience were interviewed and observed in the research work. The situational awareness (SA) is the awareness of what is happening in the work environment, understanding what the information means, and using it to anticipate how situations will develop. Examples f SA failures are failures to monitor or observe data, drillers’ poor concentration, and difficulties with interpretation of information. Stress, sleep disruption and fatigue can affect the drillers’ situational awareness. 13  14 Figure 2: Drillers’ situational awareness model. 15  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Case study of cognitive task analysis (continue) Anticipation of how the situation may develop is vital for accurate decision making, taking the correct actions and mentally preparing a plan to cope with the situation. Table 2: 16  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 3. Critical decision method The critical decision method (CDM) is a strategy for knowledge elicitation and an approach to cognitive task analysis. CDM is designed to gain understanding into cognitive processes of expert decision making in the natural context of critical, time- pressured crises. It was developed by Gary Klein and his colleagues (Klein et al., 1986). CDM uses a semi-structured interviewing technique a) to gather retrospective accounts of challenging incidents, and b) to investigate phenomena that rely on subtle cues, knowledge, goals, expectancies, and expert strategies. 17  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 3. Critical decision method CDM has four (4) interview phases, which are: a) Incident identification: Identify a complex incident that has the potential to elicit discoveries about cognitive phenomena. b) Timeline construction: Create a detailed incident timeline that shows the sequence of events. c) Deepening probe: Deepen strategies for managing the decision points embedded in the timeline. d) What-if queries: Probe with what-if queries to elicit potential expert/novice differences. 18  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Example: Adaptation of CDM in shipboard fire fighting Live-fire scenarios were conducted over a one-week period in September 2001 aboard the ex-U.S.S Shadwell, the world’s largest ship- fire research complex. 25 sailors participated in the live-fire tests and were manned as the damage control assistant (DCA), the casualty coordinator, console operators, team leaders, investigators, or attack team members. Scenarios simulated the wartime detonation of a medium-sized warhead to the ship’s starboard side, which caused significant live-fire damage and progressive flooding. 19  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Example: Adaptation of CDM in shipboard fire fighting Scenarios simulated the wartime detonation of a medium-sized warhead to the ship’s starboard side, which caused significant live-fire damage and progressive flooding. 20  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Example: Adaptation of CDM in shipboard fire fighting The adaptation of CDM exemplifies the pairing of real-time observation and post-observation interviewing. Three primary approaches to data collection are: a) Observe and record team communication streams b) Observe and probe human-system interactions c) Conduct post-observation subject-matter expert interviews 21  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Example: Adaptation of CDM in shipboard fire fighting a) Observe and record team communication streams o Sailors were stationed at their assigned locations throughout the ship. o Members of the research team were placed in these same locations in an effort to capture multiple viewpoints on a single scenario. o As scenario events unfolded, the research team recorded time-stamped communication streams that illustrated team roles and functions, courses of action implemented, and the order and duration of scenario events. 22  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Table 3: Time-stamped communication streams 23  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Example: Adaptation of CDM in shipboard fire fighting b) Observe and probe human-system interactions o As researchers observed scenario events and recorded time-stamped accounts of the incident, others were stationed in the control room observing human-system interactions and probing for key points of feedback. o The systems being tested were built to help characterize damage, monitor personnel, track the progression of damage and the movement of personnel, and assist in building overall situation awareness. 24  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Example: Adaptation of CDM in shipboard fire fighting c) Conduct post-observation subject-matter expert interviews o When live-fire tests were complete, researchers convened into pairs and began interviewing key scenario ‘players’. o Based on the scenario events, 20-min interview were conducted with the key personnel. A sample probe and response is listed as follows: 25  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 4. Team performance model The principle of team is the team members combine their efforts to achieving a common goal. The ultimate criterion of team performance is some measure of the degree to which the common goal is attained. The team performance model summarizes the process (obtaining the common goals) variables a) include behavioural processes such as communication and coordination, which are directly observable, and b) inferred cognitive and affective processes such as acquisition and use of shared mental models and more general underlying attitudes. 26 Figure 3: Team performance model. 27  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Table 4: Team process categories, observable actions and measurement criteria. 28  COGNITIVE AND TASKS An example of team performance exercise in maritime operation (Annett et al., 2000). 29 COGNITIVE AND TASKS 30  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Table 5: Summary of experts’ observations on team response to exercise. 31 COGNITIVE AND TASKS 32 COGNITIVE AND TASKS 33 COGNITIVE AND TASKS 34  COGNITIVE AND TASKS Table 6: Results of the 14 episodes scored for the five teamwork categories. 35  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 5. Team communication analysis A few studies have shown the use of investigating communications when attempting to study team performance. The application areas include aviation, military teams, team training, and communications in virtual teams. Traditionally, frequency counts of speech and communications acts were used in team performance studies because frequency counts appeared to be intuitive and could be evaluated with relative statistical ease. 36  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 5. Team communication analysis The analysis of communication patterns might offer important advantages for studying team processes. The patterns consider both the speaker and the content of the communication. The communication can be distinguished between high- and low- error crews. The poor team will demonstrate little consistency in their communication patterns. 37  COGNITIVE AND TASKS 5. Team communication analysis Good crews will demonstrate very consistent speech in terms of the sequence of speakers and the content of communications. Mismatch between expectations and actual communications can be reduced through the standardization of communication patterns in teams. It is known as ‘closed-loop’ communication. In the closed-loop communication, statement, commands and actions of each individual in a team are acknowledged and responded to by other team members. 38 References Annett, J., Cunningham, D., & Mathias-Jones, P. (2000). A method for measuring team skills. Ergonomics, 43(8), 1076–1094. Groth, K.M., & Mosleh, A. (2012). A data-informed PIF hierarchy for model-based Human Reliability Analysis. Reliability Engineering and System Safety, 108, 154–174. Klein, G.A., Calderwood, R., & Clinton-Cirocco, A. (1986). Rapid decision making on the fireground. Published in Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 30th Annual Meeting, Vol. 1, The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, CA. Moss, J., & Yan, X. (2004). Improving operating room coordination: Communication pattern assessment. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 34(2), 93–100. Roberts, R., Flin, R., & Cleland, J. (2016). How to recognise a kick: A cognitive task analysis of drillers; situation awareness during well operations. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 43, 503 – 513. 39