Read through and give quality responses for the following 3 discussion points.
1. My intuition tells me that the analogy between the ant and the beach, mentioned in this article, is right on the money. It encapsulates the idea of systems thinking crystal clear and concisely. Even though the beach affects the ant’s movement, it aims to figure out how to navigate its environment. Furthermore, the track that the ant left behind on the beach is a component that contributes to the system as a whole. Since I have extensive chemical engineering knowledge, I focus on specific elements within a system. To design a resilient and prosperous system, adopting a holistic approach and considering the complete framework is essential. The example of the ant serves as a reminder of this fact.
2. In comparison to Cognitive Task Analysis, Cognitive Work Analysis seems to be more suitable for complex systems of systems and is more future focused, whereas CTA was driven by experienced situations. I think CWA is appropriate for dynamic situations with a holistic focus that includes the complexities of teams, and CTA is appropriate for relatively simple, straightforward tasks. I found it interesting how CWA is most effective in “first of a kind” systems. This brings up previous discussion on the challenge of innovation that AI faces and the significance of the role of humans in creating new ideas.
3. While this article mentions a lot of classification methods for, “how to analyze the demands of a system,” there are still uncertainties in how to apply these methods in the field. This likely stems from the fact that there aren’t enough human factors experts participating in such CWA studies across various domains, but also because the definition of success is somewhat subjective. What is certain is determining a relative improvement in performance in a particular domain. However, there will never be a discernable absolute value of ultimate performance that can be obtained.
