Macroergonomics for Coalition Operations

Abstract

Today, a U.S. military operation is most frequently a coalition operation. The challenges inherent in military operations are exacerbated by the complexity of coalition operations. The U.S. military must often design and carry out a plan that involves multiple coalition partners, many of whom come from other cultures. Coalition operations are also high stakes operations that garner much attention worldwide. A macroergonomics perspective was used to analyze coalition operations; in this view, the coalition operation is a virtual organization. The complexities of coalition operations, their frequencies and high stakes were driving forces behind a project to apply organizational architectures and decision support technologies for planning and managing these operations. Vulnerabilities were identified in the operations execution process in areas of inter-group communications and coordination. A decision support system is currently being designed for collaborative, real-time use by coalition partners to address these vulnerabilities.