ABSTRACT
The question of when to use cognitive analysis is crucial to the efficient management of personnel and training. Our proposed approach to Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) can be used directly by aviation personnel in the operational environment. It represents a simplified framework and cognitive analysis methods that have been modified for use within aviation system design and training environments. Even with this simplification, however, it is important to select carefully the areas of application, making sure the types of analyses being performed will provide useful results. Because of its resource-intensive nature, CTA should be targeted to those critical job elements that cannot be fully analyzed with more traditional behavioral methods. Traditional task analyses can be used to identify general knowledge and skills required for specific tasks, but there are situations in training and system design where detailed analysis of knowledge and skill is required. For example, there may be a need to design an accelerated training course or an improved user interface; or instructional designers may need to understand in detail the knowledge, strategies, or decision making skills of skilled versus novice performers.
