A Model of Communication in Support of Distributed Anomaly Response and Replanning

Abstract

This paper proposes a descriptive model of the contents of communication among distributed practitioners engaged in the cognitive work of anomaly response and replanning. The model was used for a re-analysis of data on coordinative activities in response to an anomaly in a past space shuttle mission, and for a new analysis of log-based communication among flight controllers during normal space station operations. The model was found to be useful for supporting the discovery of patterns in communication among practitioners in complex work domains by providing a “coding scheme” that transforms domain-specific data into domain-independent protocols. The results of these model-based analyses have important implications for the design of computer-supported cooperative work.