ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the ability of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) to support the analysis, development and evaluation of complex sociotechnical systems. It introduces the basic principles of interaction design to the reader; placing particular attention on interface design. The book discusses the social organisational and cooperation phase of the framework in the context of a dynamic command and control paradigm. Much of the criticism for CWA and other human factors techniques are formed around the difficulty analysts have in taking analysis products and applying them to create design solutions or design recommendations. The book also explores the benefits of considering complex military planning within the Abstraction Hierarchy framework. It addresses the need for the CWA software tool as well as cataloguing its development. The benefits of the tool are compared against the paper-based approach along with standard graphics software.
