To further explain the Cognitive Work Analysis dimensions, consider a project to
study the information behaviour of teachers in a public elementary school, with
the aim of developing design recommendations for an information system to
support the teachers' work. For this project the Cognitive Work Analysis
dimensions for analysis would be:
The work environment.
Investigates the environments in which the school operates.
Examples of questions: What are the federal, state, and school district regulations
under which the school operates? What is the state policy and standards for the
school's curriculum? What is the population from which the school can recruit
students?
Work-domain analysis.Studies the work that is done at the school and the school
library. Examples of questions: What are the goals of each organization? What are
the constraints within which it has to operate? What are the activities in which each
organization is involved? What tools and technologies it uses to perform these
activities?
Task analysis.Looks at specific tasks and analyses them with the same questions.
Examples of questions: What are a teacher's goals for lessons? What are the
constraints a teacher faces in preparing and delivering a lesson? What information
sources does a teacher consult?
Organizational analysis.Examines the management style, the organizational culture,
the social conventions, and how roles are allocated. Examples of questions: How
does the teacher communicate with the principal? Why was the teacher allocated to
teach a course? Who decides whether or not the librarian should give a presentation
in a class session? What procedure does this process follow?
Decision analysis.Provides a more specific analysis of individual decisions.
Examples of questions: for a librarian's decision whether certain images would be
relevant for a lesson, for instance the issues involved might be: what information