Critical Incident Technique
Acronym
CIT
Description
The critical incident technique (CIT) uses interviews to evaluate operator decisionmaking. The technique utilizes semistructured interviews to aid operator recall of past critical events or incidents. Things to note include decisions made and actions performed by the operator and their peers during the event. The goal is also to determine why these actions occurred and why the decisions were made. The individual performing the analysis has a set of probes to elicit this information.
Uses
To gain insight into operator decisionmaking.
How do I use this tool?
1. SELECT THE INCIDENT TO BE ANALYZED. This may be one incident or an entire group. In some instances the incident type may already be determined. The technique typically focuses on rare or nonroutine incidents, emergencies, or incidents that were very challenging. If the incident type is not predetermined, analysts may conduct interviews with system operators in order to find recent incidents that were challenging, risky, or emergencies. In the CIT analysis, the primary decisionmaker for the selected incident should be the person interviewed. The technique can also be applied to groups.
2. GATHER AND RECORD ACCOUNT OF THE INCIDENT. Ask the people being interviewed to describe the incident under analysis from beginning to end.
3. CONSTRUCT AN ACCURATE INCIDENT TIMELINE. After an account of the incident is gathered, a timeline of the incident can be constructed. The goal is to provide the analyst with an accurate view of what occurred, including the time and duration of each event. The timeline should include details of both physical events (e.g., alarms going off) and cognitive details (i.e., what the person being interviewed thought and perceived while the incident was occurring).
4. SELECT REQUIRED INCIDENT ASPECTS. After the analyst has an accurate portrayal of the incident, specific points within the incident are selected for further analysis. These points will be determined by the goals of the analysis.
5. EACH INCIDENT ASPECT SELECTED IN STEP 4 SHOULD BE ANALYZED FURTHER using a set of specific probes. The probes used should be determined by the goals of the analysis and the incident domain. Prior to analysis, the analyst develops specific probes.
Expertise Required
Users of this tool usually have some training or experience in its use.
Advantages
The CIT can gain insight into the decision making processes in complex systems.
Can be applied anywhere and has been utilized across numerous domains.
Because the incidents are recounted retrospectively, no time-consuming incident observations are necessary.
Disadvantages
Operators may be reluctant to participate when their performance may be scrutinized.
Reliability is questionable.
Reliance on memory can result in data degradation and other data collection problems.
Where can I go to learn more?
Stanton N, Salmon P, Walker G, et al. Cognitive task analysis methods. Human factors methods: a practical guide for engineering and design. Great Britain: Ashgate; 2005. p. 77-108.