Title: Application of cognitive work analysis in support of systems engineering of a socio-technical system

Authors: Henk van den Heever; Rudolph Oosthuizen

Addresses: Department of Engineering and Technology Management, University of Pretoria, 140 Lunnon Rd., Hillcrest, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa ' Department of Engineering and Technology Management, University of Pretoria, 140 Lunnon Rd., Hillcrest, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

Abstract: This paper presents a validation workflow to support system requirements analysis. Systems engineering supports the development of socio-technical systems. However, the traditional systems engineering approach of reducing the system to component level to perform detailed designs and integrate them into a solution system may miss unexpected emergent behaviour when introducing a new technology into a socio-technical system. It may require changes in the socio-technical system's information flows, processes and procedures. Ignoring these emerging requirements may result in undesirable results or failures in the system. Cognitive work analysis, with work domain analysis in particular, provides a framework for analysing, modelling and designing socio-technical systems. The output abstraction hierarchy models were evaluated using a focus group approach for perceived utility in uncovering potential design emergence. The focus groups supported both the models and the proposed method. This structured approach will support requirements capturing and analysis for developing and engineering socio-technical systems.

Keywords: cognitive work analysis; CWA; systems engineering; requirements analysis; work domain analysis; WDA; emergence; socio-technical.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2024.135830

International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 2024 Vol.46 No.1, pp.90 - 106

Received: 18 Jan 2022
Accepted: 29 May 2022
Published online: 08 Jan 2024 *

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