What are Cognitive Ergonomics?
Cognitive Ergonomics
Cognitive ergonomics, a term synonymous with cognitive engineering, concerns the design, structure and operation of the interface between the operator of a system and system states and processes. This approach assumes that the way people see, hear, pay attention, think, remember (and forget) and make decisions has direct implications for the design of the artifacts and environments that they use. If the features of their physical surroundings reflect and support their natural cognitive tendencies, then at the very least, users should make fewer errors when using such systems; at the very most, their performance and productivity could receive a positive boost.
Cognitive Artifacts
Post-it notes provide a very simple, everyday example of a good “cognitive artifact” a product that supports some aspect of cognition — since they provide easy-to-use, efficient reminders (memory cues) for representing information. In applying cognitive ergonomics more broadly to the design of office furniture, work tools and office environments, we hope to design workplaces that constitute “extensions” of the minds of their occupants; literally, we want people’s “inner worlds” to resonate with their physical environments, a condition we have termed “cognitive resonance.”
Cognitive Ergonomics in Action
The following examples represent practical applications of cognitive ergonomics:
1) The design and layout (configuration of equipment and furniture, etc.) of a hospital’s operating room to maximize team performance and minimize errors of perception, attention and judgment
2) The design of a commercial jet’s cockpit area to correspond to the crew’s natural tendencies in perception, memory and decision-making
3) The design of an office environment to minimize distractions and maximize productivity and performance
4) The design of a classroom to maximize information exchange, knowledge creation and acquisition
5) The design of an interactive Web page to correspond with users’ intuitive perceptual and information categories.
