Command 21 - Information Flow in Command and Control
The Problem
Command and control (C2) environments currently are structured in a way that sub-optimally utilizes information flow. Effective information flow is necessary for the following mission-critical tasks:
- Gathering, processing and analyzing information
- Developing and maintaining Situation Awareness
- Developing, executing and monitoring complex plans
- Managing and coordinating knowledge and physical resources
- Making time-critical decisions
- Communicating and disseminating information products
Factors complicating effective information flow include: effortful information search, unreliable information verification, and distributed collaboration amongs ad hoc teams.
The Solution
Our solution focuses on enhancing the information search, verification, and dissemination activities for command center staff. Previous Command 21 efforts led to the development of the highly successful and widely-used Knowledge Web (K-Web). The K-Web is a web-based concept to efficiently and effectively share value-added knowledge-based information instead of raw or semi-processed data and information.
Current efforts build and expand on K-Web concepts while focusing on the role of the Staff Judge Advocate (SJA). Since SJAs support a variety of aspects of any given operation, our solutions can be generalized throughout all types of C2 users. Our approach consists of conducting a comprehensive task analysis to discover the techniques and challenges SJAs have in assembling, verifying, and disseminating the Rules of Engagement (ROE) and other aspects of Operational Law (OPLAW).
PSE’s efforts are coupled with complimentary efforts of researchers at George Mason University and Carnegie Mellon University, with the goal of a comprehensive SJA Toolkit.
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