Cognitive Analysis (CWA) is a framework that was developed to model complex sociotechnical work systems. The framework models different types of constraints, building a model of how work could proceed within a given work system. The focus on constraints separates the technique from other approaches to analysis that aim to describe how work is actually conducted, or prescribe how it should be conducted. 

Cognitive analytics can refer to a range of different analytical strategies that are used to learn about certain types of business related functions, such as customer outreach. Certain types of cognitive analytics also may be known as predictive analytics, where data mining and other cognitive uses of data can lead to predictions for business intelligence (BI).