Cognitive Task Analysis Using Complementary Elicitation Methods

Cognitive task analysis is accomplished using a wide variety of methodologies, and we have previously argued that different methods will tend to elicit qualitatively different types of knowledge and skills. Because of this, many practitioners use complementary methods for a given project. We have developed such a complementary package of knowledge elicitation techniques, along with a specific representational method, which together are termed conceptual graph analysis. Conceptual graph analysis is domain-independent and can be used to evaluate complex cognitive tasks or subtasks. It relies on the successive use of document analysis, interviews, task observation, and induction based on review of task performance. The information from these elicitation techniques is represented as a set of interrelated conceptual graphs, but can be represented in other formats also. There are several issues relevant to cognitive task analysis that are currently being faced, including when to perform this type of analysis, and what methods to use. One answer is to perform cognitive task analysis when the task has an inherently high degree of cognitive complexity.