cg108fbo@icogsci1.ucsd.edu (ANDREW MICONE) (03/23/90)
In article <6868@hydra.gatech.EDU> kirlik@chmsr.gatech.edu (Alex Kirlik) writes: > >Would anyone care to provide a one-sentence definition of cognitive >engineering? Email or posts are fine. Thank you, In a nutshell (perhaps oversimplified): "When engineering for people, apply empirical observation, then re-engineer." Design science today is like the early science of the Greeks; where science was only a matter of abstraction, and the workings of physical systems were decided by debate, not by observation. It's incredulous that the same society that invented geometry at one time believed that a horse became impregnated by a westerly wind blowing up its aft. When observation was introduced into science it revolutionized it, and this revolution is long overdue in design science. People shouldn't be dealt with as abstractions -- design for people involves people. Too often, though, this principle is only payed lip service. Programmers who build user-friendly systems ignore the fact they've never met a user. Advertising departments promote a system as easy to use because, as Gasse' once said, "they changed the shape of a button." The real cornerstone of cognitive design is that you have to get your hands dirty, you have to be ready to abandon your design when its shortcomings are revealed, and you have to do it over and over again. Your comments are welcome, Andy andym@crash.CTS.COM pa1565@iugrad2 cg108fbo@icogsci1