Team Cognition in Intelligence Analysis

Abstract

While intelligence analysis has become the focus of much recent research, there has been a shortage of research in team cognition for analytical tasks and effective training strategies for analysis. This study investigates the effectiveness of teams of analysts in a training exercise. In order to capture the dynamics and nuances of multiple large teams of practitioners concurrently struggling with a realistic scenario, we used a unique adaptation of established ethnographic methods. The goal of this qualitative research was to determine persistent analytical strategies and study the interplay between the critical support functions of macrocognition for teams of novice analysts. Findings from this study suggest strategies for improving performance and training for intelligence analysts.