Using Communication Data to Assess Organizational and System Effectiveness in Future Combat Systems

Abstract

The interconnected nature of the Army's Future Combat System provides an opportunity to use communication analysis as a viable evaluation method of both organizational efficiency and system design. In the current investigation, communications during teamin-the-loop experimentation were collected and analyzed for both content and flow patterns. Results suggest that players did not fully utilize the functionality of a common operating picture (COP) and new technology insertion did not achieve the desired effect within the organization. Requests for information and updates were frequently related to information that could have been found on the COP. The communication patterns suggested that the experimental organization was very much hierarchical, with little horizontal communications. That is, despite the influx of new systems, traditional operations were employed. In this study, communication data were successfully employed to assess operational effectiveness and the quality of system design.