Role Based Real-Time Virtual Collaborative Toolkit for TST

Military operations are transitioning from a platform-centric (or unit-oriented) approach to a network-centric (or enterprise-oriented) architecture. This architecture will provide decision makers with unprecedented amounts of information. However, information availability alone is insufficient to attain the timeliness demanded by operations. What is needed is the right information to the right person at the right time. To achieve this, we must manage the flow of information within distributed collaborative environments. The Air Force environment presents particular challenges such as complexity, dynamism and integration, to the application of traditional workflow management systems. We propose an alternative solution which will accommodate complex, dynamic environments. The overall approach is twofold. First, emphasize role-based, local decision making which decentralizes the process and contributes to an increase in efficiency. Second, develop a smart INTEL object that encapsulates state information and contributes to a more secure and flexible system. The approach will use intelligent agents in conjunction with human input to facilitate workflow decisions.