🚀 go-pugleaf

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