What are they doing: testing a structured cognitive work analysis-based approach for identifying different road user strategies

Abstract

Cognitive Work Analysis has been widely applied within Human Factors to develop and evaluate complex sociotechnical systems. To date, however research has focused primarily on the first two phases of the framework – Work Domain Analysis and Control Task Analysis. Recently, a new approach, the Strategies Analysis Diagram, has been proposed as a structured approach to the third phase - Strategies Analysis. This paper evaluates the Strategies Analysis Diagram with a complex sociotechnical system, road transport. The results suggest the Strategies Analysis Diagram is capable of describing the range of potential strategies employed when different road users (e.g. drivers, motorcycle riders, cyclists and pedestrians) execute a right hand turn at an intersection. The strategies identified provide what appears to be a comprehensive overview of those employed by different road users. The analysis also identified differences in strategies for a particular function as well as differences in strategies between road user groups.