Model-Based Team Design

Abstract

The introduction of new technology, along with cost pressures to “do more with less,” are forcing organizations to re-engineer their team structures and processes. We have developed a systematic, formal, quantitative model-based approach for designing teams. The team model specifies tasks to be accomplished, interdependencies between tasks, resources available to accomplish the tasks, and a set of goals and constraints for the team. We optimize a multi-variable objective function to develop a team design that specifies the tasks performed and the resources controlled by each team member and the authority structure and communication links for the team. We are currently designing teams in a number of military domains—Joint Task Forces, Navy shipboard command centers, Air Force Air Operations Centers, and Air Force AW ACS teams. This paper will use examples from these domains to point out similarities and differences in the team-design problem across domains