ABSTRACT
One of the main tenets of naturalistic decision-making research is the importance of studying how actual decision makers perform in realistic situations as a basis for understanding the characteristics of expert decision making and the requirements for effective support. Studying the performance of actual decision-makers in realistic contexts can be an important tool for uncovering the demands of the domain and the knowledge and skills that underlie the performance of expert practitioners (Potter, Roth, Woods, & Elm, 2000; Mumaw, Roth, Vicente, & Burns, 2000). However, there are some situations in which empirical investigation of practitioner performance in the existing environment is not sufficient in itself to characterize the requirements for effective support. A case in point is the design of first-of-a-kind systems that, when implemented, are intended to change dramatically the cognitive and collaborative activities entailed by the work environment.
