Distributed Planning Teams

Abstract

To understand the way distributed teams plan, we considered a number of different configurations. Our research drew on observations and interviews in a variety of settings: The primary source was from Joint Force Air Component Commander exercises. We also drew on observations and interviews for projects with Patriot Missile batteries, air campaign planners, U.S. Marine Corps regimental command posts, and aeromedical evacuation planning teams. These 5 data sources covered 10 different observations and approximately 150 interviews. We concluded that a model of distributed planning should explain how different forcing functions determine the planning processes that are distributed and the type of plan that is produced. We also identified a range of different plan types and forcing functions and a number of hypotheses about how these are linked.