Exploring Dynamic Measures of Team Process in Combat Teams

Abstract

Traditional static measures often overlook the temporal complexity of coordination in high-stakes environments. Dynamical systems methods offer time-sensitive insights by capturing interaction patterns across multiple modalities. This study examined how emergent differences in team composition—such as communication style and trust—and operational context affect dynamic, multidimensional measures of team process. Twenty-eight active-duty personnel participated in high-fidelity simulated missions as remote tank platoon teams. Time series data were analyzed using geospatial metrics, communication flow measures, and physiological synchrony measures. Group and phase differences in process measures were assessed using ANCOVAs, informed by prior t-tests and ANOVAs on trust and performance. Group 1 showed more structured communication (higher recurrence and determinism), while Group 2 exhibited greater intensity, centralization, and less consistent movement pacing. Geospatial cohesion declined during defensive phases, with increased dispersion and reduced synchronization. Trust and performance also varied significantly by group and phase, respectively. Physiological synchrony showed no significant differences. Multidimensional metrics revealed meaningful variation in coordination based on both team composition and operational context. Communication and geospatial indicators were especially sensitive to task demands. Dynamic team process measures—particularly communication structure and geospatial dispersion—offer diagnostic insight into coordination and may inform real-time monitoring, adaptive training, and system design in complex environments.