Team Knowledge Interoperability in Maritime Interdiction Operations Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2008.1 Topic No.: N08-082 Topic Title: Team Knowledge Interoperability in Maritime Interdiction Operations Proposal No.: N081-082-1187 Firm: Harmonia, Inc. 2020 Kraft Drive Suite 1000 Blacksburg, Virginia 24060 Contact: Marc Abrams Phone: (540) 951-5900 Web Site: www.harmonia.com Abstract: We develop a same time/different place collaborative ability to promote shared awareness in teams working in rapid response operations with fluid and rich data. Our goal is to better understand cognitive processes of team collaboration, and use the understanding to drive the design of a collaborative system (CS). The CS is targeted to Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIOs), but also applies to emergency responders. Our solution defines schemas for MIOs. Schemas are the antithesis of task models - they don't say how to do the job, but instead focus on assumptions and responsibilities by role for the MIO, which are easier to elaborate than listing all possible tasks and decisions. When an assumption goes wrong on a MIO, improvisation is required which invokes collaborative problem solving. We use a cognitive model to describe collaborative events that the CS initiates when assumptions are violated during a MIO. The CS also acts as a memory aid to help MIO team members invoke knowledge they already have, and perform better. After a MIO, schemas are updated through reflection to dynamically evolve as teamwork evolves and enemy tactics adapt. Phase I empirically assesses deriving and updating schemas, and creates a preliminary CS design. Benefits: The potential commercial applications include Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIOs), emergency responders, companies with teams managing crises, terrorist response, border patrol by military, epidemic outbreak, coast guard, police, fire, and rescue workers. The benefits are the following: the proposed collaborative system (CS) is mission-customized based on cognitive analysis, in contrast to general purpose COTS collaborative tools. There are no up-front costs to start using the CS. It is self-priming because the needed schema catalog is built incrementally. The CS design helps overcome weaknesses in human behavior. It helps teams overcome initially wrong decisions in recognition-primed decision making and moves discussion off of common knowledge faster to making hard decisions. The CS also acts as a job aid, to help team members perform by cueing their memories based on assumptions that are proven right or wrong. The CS is built on a process using post-incident reflection, which provides a practical way to harvest knowledge among MIO operators and create a repository of organizational knowledge. The process also creates buy-in from MIO operators because they drive schema evolution during post-incident reflection. The ultimate benefit is better and faster team decisions through organizational learning. Return