Our Approach

Our Applied Cognitive Systems Engineering process guarantees decision support that revolutionizes the way people do business.

A resilient system is one in which a Joint Cognitive System formed by the user and the technology will perform effectively, even under stressful and novel situations. In order for decision makers to adapt effectively, the computer system must provide information enabling the decision makers to respond. The key to a resilient system lies in the detect and respond, without becoming overwhelmed, to both small and large disturbances.

Analysis is the first step to designing a resilient cognitive solution. This step uses a guided knowledge elicitation technique identifying the decisions inherent in the domain, determining the information requirements necessary to make those decisions. The results of the analysis are used in the design phase as the requirements and framework for developing the decision support concepts. The analysis uses theories of expert decision making to provide a useable framework of information for ACSE-Design (ACSE-D).

The artifacts from ACSE-Analysis (ACSE-A) are the input to the ACSE-D process. Decision support concepts designed using ACSE-D display the information identified in the ACSE-A. It is organized in such a way to map the understanding of experts in the specific field of work. The information is presented to the user to ensure the most important elements of the information are the most perceptually compelling. To ensure that the user's attention is always drawn to the most important information first, principles of visual perception are used to design the representations.

The products from ACSE-D are a key component to the software implementation process. Ensuring the Cognitive Engineers and Software Engineers work as a close team. This ensures that all details required for successful decision support to users are preserved when the designs are transformed to implemented software.

RCS is making major breakthroughs in the evaluation of the decision-making effectiveness of the Joint Cognitive System. We are able to produce the support tools required to make Decision Centered Evaluation a practical, affordable, essential part of an overall systems engineering process. We are progressively evolving from our current focus on design and extending that to evaluation.

The steps in this process include:

• Extending the design methodology to link directly into Decision Centered Evaluation.
• Prototyping an appropriate support tool to be evaluated in the hands of a user.
• Applying the Decision Centered Evaluation to evaluate systems for the purpose of validating the methodology and the supporting tool as input to the next spiral of development.

This revolutionary new approach to Decision Centered Testing represents a natural complement to ACSE's basis in Decision Centered Design, closing the loop in the spiral development processes from a whole new perspective.