Analysis of evolving team interactions in dynamic targeting

Abstract

Command and Control (C2) enables a commander to recognise what objectives to achieve and is the means to ensure that appropriate actions are taken. Important insights can be gained by studying the complex patterns of interactions in military headquarters. Since traditional social network analysis (SNA) quantifies social interactions in terms of network theory without associated contextual information, we have developed a tool, called SNA of C2 (SNAC2), to exploit captured information of an evolving social network. Features include contextual marking–up of data, tagging with meta–data, the ability to categorise events into phases for in–depth analysis and enhanced metrics allowing quantitative temporal analysis of the social network. SNAC2 is applied to analysing dynamic targeting, a process used in the air and space operations centre (AOC) to engage time–sensitive targets (TSTs). The rich data captured could be used to expose process chokepoints, inefficient work practices and inappropriate workspace design.