Avoid the Maze with Cognitive Engineering
We’ve all used an application or visited a site with the need to do a specific task. Sometimes it goes well, and you’re done in no time. Mission accomplished and on to something else.
Conversely, sometimes things are overcomplicated and confusing. Maybe you can’t find what you’re looking for or if you do it’s after digging through layers that seem entirely unnecessary. Perhaps it’s relatively easy to find what you need, but then it takes way too many steps to finish the task. In either case you feel like you just meandered through a maze.
The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a widely recognized, widely used methodology among development teams. It lays out a sequential set of steps to be followed to achieve a quality solution in a timely manner. No doubt many maze creators followed the SDLC. So, what went wrong?
Sure, it’s possible the individuals involved didn’t possess the right skillsets. But maybe they were missing a key item in their toolbox.
Cognitive Engineering
The idea of cognitive engineering (CE) has been around for decades but remained largely isolated within academic circles. It is a way to approach analysis and design with a focus on people. Evaluating how people interact with technology and how they approach decision making. These things can be assessed through interview techniques then translated into something tangible. CE necessitates devoting more time to producing requirements, but the result is better direction, leading to a more thoroughly defined target. That means fewer iterations of your product.
*Shout out to Dr. Robert Eshleman, a former colleague, for bringing CE onto my radar.
How Wrong Turns Happen
Several years ago, I was part of a team that developed an administration system from the ground up. Our subject matter experts (SMEs) provided substantial, meaningful input. What our approach failed to consider was what they weren’t telling us. These were not intentional omissions. When asked to explain something it’s not uncommon for a SME to miss things. Over time performing steps within a task becomes second nature, needing so little thought that the person is no longer conscious of doing them. CE interview techniques help capture these forgotten steps from the onset, saving substantial rework.
It’s important to interview others beyond your SME group. To provide a good overall user experience (UX), you’ll need a broader perspective. New users should be able to intuitively navigate the system without a need for extensive or ongoing training.
Consider different approaches as processes are built. Some tasks may appear inefficient, but further evaluation will reveal that more complexity is necessary, due to a business need or perhaps compliance related checks and balances. These tasks can be restricted to more experienced users to maintain the UX.
Applying CE to new system design can produce amazing results but may not be an option. Cognitive analysis can be used to quantify existing process complexity. These results can be used to inform which areas to focus the rework to achieve the most significant gains in productivity and/or user experience.
If you’d like to learn more or have BTG assist with an upcoming project, please contact us at info@bluetridentgroup.com or book a free consultation here.