Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA; Rasmussen, Pejtersen & Goodstein, 1994;
Vicente, 1999) is most familiar to cognitive engineers from its successes in the
area of interface design. In this report, we describe how we have used CWA in
a variety of other contexts at the Defence Science and Technology
Organisation (DSTO) in Australia. First, we describe the five analytic techniques
of CWA, and we show how CWA can be used throughout a system’s life
cycle, from requirements definition to system retirement. Second, we provide
specific examples of projects from the air defense domain in which we have
used CWA. These projects include (1) evaluating alternative designs for
Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, (2) evaluating
human-system integration solutions for AEW&C, (3) identifying training
needs for F/A–18 pilots and developing functional requirements for a training
system that meets those needs, and (4) designing information work spaces for
command and control. These examples give strength to the argument that
CWA can be used just as effectively in areas other than interface design where
the professional contribution of cognitive engineers is required