Team Knowledge Interoperability in Maritime Interdiction Operations

We develop a same time/different place collaborative ability to promote shared awareness in teams working in rapid response operations with fluid and rich data. Our goal is to better understand cognitive processes of team collaboration, and use the understanding to drive the design of a collaborative system (CS). The CS is targeted to Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIOs), but also applies to emergency responders. Our solution defines schemas for MIOs. Schemas are the antithesis of task models – they don’t say how to do the job, but instead focus on assumptions and responsibilities by role for the MIO, which are easier to elaborate than listing all possible tasks and decisions. When an assumption goes wrong on a MIO, improvisation is required which invokes collaborative problem solving. We use a cognitive model to describe collaborative events that the CS initiates when assumptions are violated during a MIO. The CS also acts as a memory aid to help MIO team members invoke knowledge they already have, and perform better. After a MIO, schemas are updated through reflection to dynamically evolve as teamwork evolves and enemy tactics adapt. Phase I empirically assesses deriving and updating schemas, and creates a preliminary CS design.