Welcome to the

Workshop on Cognitive Work Analysis

Seattle, WA, November 3-5, 2004

Funded by the National Science Foundation and the Center for Human-Information Interaction

The Center for Human-Information Interaction at the Information School of the University of Washington organized a workshop on Cognitive Work Analysis(CWA). CWA approaches computer-based work in socio-technical systems by focusing on the analysis of cognitive work within a holistic framework in order to develop system requirements. Its unique contribution to human-centered design is its ability to address the complexity and the dynamic nature of the workplace. As a result, CWA facilitates flexibility in problem solving in this ever-changing environment. CWA is one of the few conceptual frameworks that provide researchers with a way to study both task and context simultaneously and offers up a mechanism to transfer results from an in-depth analysis of human-information interaction directly to design requirements.

The Workshop focused on issues relating to research work using CWA and relating to training and education in this area. Participants were invited from both industry and academe. This project is significant because it focuses entirely on a new shift in the application of the CWA framework. For the first time, researchers and practitioners from around the globe were able to come together and discuss CWA and computer-based technology design, not as a subsystem of Cognitive Systems Engineering, but as a research focus well able to stand on its own and offering its own unique insights and benefits. In addition, the Workshop begun to establish an international network of researchers and practitioners who employ CWA in their daily work.