Communication System Cues to Benefit Distributed Action Teams

Abstract

Communication System Cues (CSCs) were used to provide information to distributed action teams regarding the integrity of the communication system they relied upon for task work. The impact of CSCs on team performance and stress was evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Fifty-nine dyadic teams of undergraduates performed three 10-min trials of a simulated firefighting task. Team members in separate sound-isolated rooms depended on microphones and headphones for all communications, and experienced 0, 2, and 4 s audio delays randomly within each trial. Qualitative findings indicated that some teams receiving CSCs took steps to mitigate the detrimental effects of delays, but quantitative analyses revealed this did not translate to improved performance or reduced stress. These results suggest that CSCs are something that distributed action teams are able to use, but further research is needed to determine how CSCs can be used more effectively and if their use benefits team situation awareness.