Using Prospective Ergonomics to Identify Opportunities from Recent Technological Advances in AI: The Case of a West African Bank

Abstract

This paper discusses two examples of how ergonomics practitioners implemented prospective ergonomics. The first resulted in the development of a scoring approach to lending in a West African bank that had previously been deemed impossible due to the lack of relevant data. By using cognitive ergonomics, practitioners demonstrated to risk managers that scores could be developed using local customer characteristics. The second initiative was the application of new technology using deep neural networks for image processing. Through a cognitive task analysis of hundreds of risk managers, we determined that they spend most of their time verifying information. By combining advanced image processing and scoring we were able to fully automate the loan adjudication process. We believe that this insight could transform the lending industry. We also identify a need for upgraded models and approaches to predict possible transformations and their potential impact.