Bringing considerations of situated action to bear on the paradigm of cognitive modeling: the 2002 Benjamin Franklin Medal in computer and cognitive science presented to Lucy Suchman ?
The work of Lucy Suchman produced a paradigmatic shift in the cognitive science community by creating an awareness of the role of context in human cognition. Prior to that, cognitive scientists attempting to create interactive computer systems1 believed that if the system had a good likeness of its user's knowledge of the world it could understand and therefore successfully respond to its user's needs. As a result, cognitive scientists attempted to supply to computer systems the knowledge, or plans, that users brought to bear when solving problems so that the computer systems could examine that knowledge and predict what users needed to know. Suchman argued that problem-solving did not proceed simply by applying plans of action. Rather, she showed that plans were but one of the resources that people use in problem-solving: plans help people decide what features of the environment to attend to in order to attain their goals. Suchman then extended this insight in a way that created a new field of research. She took the position that interactive systems need to match the context-driven way in which people use technologies in their work environments. As a result, she developed the methodology of ethnographically based design. In this method, working prototypes are developed and designers follow users to see what their work and their work contexts are like, as users try out the prototypes in their daily work environments. Using this approach, Suchman uncovered previously unnoticed creative and improvisational abilities common in the workplace. Further, she suggested systems that would enhance, rather than quash, these ways of working. Suchman's approach, now used in academia and industry both in the US and throughout Europe, has impacted significantly on the design of computer systems in a wide range of domains such as space exploration, medical monitoring of elders living on their own, and large-scale document retrieval.
situated action cognitive modelling human-computer interaction