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Asynchronous (non real-time) collaboration in the Distributed Joint Air Operations Center (D-JAOC) included sharing information, decisions, and team responsibilities. The place-based nature of the collaborative environment allowed persistent access to resource documents and functional products as well as a meaningful way to organize these in a virtual JAOC building. Operator-developed innovations that we observed included:
Besides support for asynchronous collaboration, the collaborative environment also enabled all three commonly recognized models of synchronous (real-time) collaboration (formal, ad hoc, and informal). The Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) briefing was a good example of formal collaboration. In a pre-planned, scheduled meeting, each Division Chief briefed the JFACC with more than sixty persons in virtual attendance. The briefing charts had been implemented as web pages for easy access by all through a web browser, with the web address for the briefing posted as an object in the JFACC Briefing Room. All participants in the room (plus in a second room "wired" to the first room) used audio to listen to the briefers in real-time. At the same time, the text chat feature was used for private sidebar discussions. Ad hoc collaboration, in which participants came together to react to anticipated but unscheduled tasks, was often observed as different groups used the "Group Page" feature to call up available group members to assemble in a virtual room. At this point the context for the collaboration was known and thus followed a pattern similar to formal collaboration. For example, Time Critical Targeting (TCT) personnel created collaborative notes upon notification of candidate targets, sent them to selected TCT groups, and sent flash user alerts to the appropriate groups. This was then followed by real-time collaboration on the servicing of each such target. Informal collaborations were chance, unplanned and unstructured encounters. The place-based nature of the collaborative tool (as opposed to session oriented or time-based) allowed JAOC personnel to make new contacts and network with other participants. We witnessed a good example of this type of collaboration when the JFACC wanted to know the latest weather information about the Forward, which had a hurricane headed its way. When he decided to go to the weather room within the collaborative environment, he immediately ran into one of the weather experts, and was able to get an impromptu report on the latest weather developments Forward.
Collaborative technology allowed participants at remote EFX ’98 sites to be involved directly in the preparation of the ATO. This enhancement to participant interaction, together with the pervasiveness of collaborative tools throughout the distributed JAOC and remote sites, was credited by D-JAOC personnel as the principal cause of increased situation awareness among most participants. In the process of experimenting with collaborative technology, operators reported discovering an improved process for conducting Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), TCT, Air Space and Mobility Management, Master Air Attack Planning (MAAP), and coordination of IW operations. They learned, for example, that the MAAP process could be carried out with fewer people, with functional representatives and unit personnel also present during the process. In Combat Operations, participants stated they were able to gather information, make decisions, and distribute the information to critical users faster than before. In addition, they discovered that today’s collaborative computing technology cannot replace all required forms of human-to-human collaboration. Ultimately, users verified that more work is needed in the effort to develop a distributed JAOC collaborative Concept of Operations (CONOPS) and associated Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs). For more information, please contact Mike Cokus using the employee directory. |
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