A collection of essays on the interaction between humans and complex systems is presen- ted. The field of cognitive engineering is a relatively new and expanding activity. Whilst at first glance the word- pair cognitive and engineering may seem incongruous, the need for a principled approach to the design and evaluation of high technology human- work environments is a matter of increasing concern. This is especially significant in advanced information systems where the cognitive aspects of task performance need to be engineered into a technical implementation in order to achieve an integrated relationship between humans and machines. This matching is crucial if we are to create error- tolerant, more productive and more reliable systems in the future.
Abstract