15
Discovering Patterns in Joint
Cognitive Systems at Work
The study of join t cognitive systems in context is a process of
discovering how the b ehavior and strategies of practitioners are
adapted to the various purposes and constraints of the field of activit y.
To study join t cognitive systems requires going behind the more or
less visible activities of practitioners to uncover how these activities
are parts of larger processes of collaboration and coordination. Th e
key is to uncover how people adapt to exploit capabilities and
workaround complexities as they pursue their goals.
A JCS AT WORK
In the year after the Three Mile Island accident, a team of what we would today
call cognitive system engineers was observing how nuclear power control room ...