An Expanded Toolkit for Modeling Sensemaking, Knowledge Creation, Knowledge Management, and Decision Making in Military C2 Teams and Organizations

This 18-month Phase II project extends earlier research by translating current research theories of collaborative sensemaking and knowledge management into a working constructive simulation model that can support the exploration of different classes of variables-doctrinal, organizational, training, technology, personnel-and their effect on the ability of a military organization to produce timely and relevant actionable knowledge in a complex operational setting. The proposed technical approach explicitly models the organization's knowledge state interacting with (and influenced by) the dynamic task behaviors of a diverse set of staff experts and stakeholders. The analytic power and utility this modeling approach will be demonstrated via the representation of an effects-based targeting process within a Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC). Specific aspects of this approach include explicit representation of (1) the CAOC's dynamic state of actionable knowledge that is oriented around command intent and constrained by various political, diplomatic, humanitarian, and legal factors, (2) relevant staff functions and decision events within a cyclical battle rhythm that is supported by emergent patterns of staff collaboration, and (3) various forms of knowledge inputs in the form of codified battlespace information, tacit experience and expertise, and extent social knowledge within the staff.