It is defined by the International Ergonomics Association as "concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system.
[1] The relevant topics include mental workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human-computer interaction, human reliability, work stress and training as these may relate to human-system design.
It places particular emphasis on the analysis of cognitive processes required of operators in modern industries and similar milieus.
Some cognitive ergonomics aims are: diagnosis, workload, situation awareness, decision making, and planning.
"[4] Viewed as an applied science, the methods involved with creating cognitive ergonomic design have changed with the rapid development in technological advances over the last 27 years.
[5] Neuroergonomics, a subfield of cognitive ergonomics, aims to enhance human-computer interaction by using neural correlates to better understand situational task demands.
Human Computer Interaction has a huge part in cognitive ergonomics because we are in a time period where most of life is digitalized.
The changes in our socio-technical contexts adds to the stress of methods of visualization and analysis, along with the capabilities regarding cognitive perceptions by the user.
In some cases, the artifacts or tools used to carry out a task may impose their own constraints and limitations (e.g., navigating through a large number of GUI screens).
This would work with human factors in developing an intellectual learning support system and applying an interdisciplinary methodology of training, helping the effective interaction between the person and the computer with the strengthening of critical thinking and intuition.
[10] Accessibility can be implemented by making sites that can present information through multiple sensory channels with sound and sight.
[12] Frameworks like GOMS provide a formal set of methods for identifying the mental activities required by a task and an artifact, such as a desktop computer system.
By identifying the sequence of mental activities of a user engaged in a task, cognitive ergonomics engineers can identify bottlenecks and critical paths that may present opportunities for improvement or risks (such as human error) that merit changes in training or system behavior.