Cognitive Systems Engineering / Ecological Interface Design

The design of effective decision support from a cognitive systems engineering perspective depends upon an explicit consideration of three system components:

  1. The domain (the work to be done)
  2. The agents (humans or machines doing the work)
  3. The interface (displays and controls to help do the work)

All three components (the cognitive triad) contribute a set of independent, but mutually interacting set of constraints.

Domain Component. Each domain produces different types of cognitive demands. Several types of cognitive work analyses need to be conducted to ensure effective mappings. For example, the abstraction and aggregation hierarchies are analytical tools that are used to model a domain in terms of the critical categories of information and the appropriate "grains" of resolution which are needed.

Agent Component. The capabilities and limitations of the agents who will be making decisions in the domain need to be considered. Agents can include humans and/or machines (either AI or simple automation). For example, humans have extremely powerful perception/action skills that should be exploited, but also have extreme limitations (e.g., working memory) that should not be taxed.

Interface Component. The interface is the bridge between the domain and the agents. Overall, there are three fundamental principles of Ecological Interface Design:

  • Direct Perception -- occurs when displays reflect the constraint space of the domain.
  • Direct Manipulation -- occurs when controls allow the agent to enter input directly upon objects in domain.
  • Visual Momentum -- occurs when smooth cognitive and perceptual transitions between interface elements are suported.

The effectiveness of the interface will ultimately depend upon the quality of very specific sets of mappings between these constraints.


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The three primary system components that must be considered to design effective displays and interfaces.

The quality of specific mappings between these components will determine the effectiveness of the decision making and problem solving support that is provided.