Collaborative Decision Making in Dynamic Systems

Abstract

Operators of power plants, management decision makers and military commanders are often faced with collaborating and coordinating decision making efforts with other people while simultaneously interacting with computer-based control or information systems. We view such activities as collaborative decision making and consider the communication and coordination involved in those tasks to be the essence of team performance. The purpose of this paper is to outline the important factors in collaborative decision making and identify the important issues relevant to communication and coordination in complex, dynamic systems. A model of collaborative decision making in dynamic systems will be described that relies on three important elements: decision making; communication; and the user interface.