Communication Requirements for Effective Team Performance
Ketut Sulistyawati, Yoon Ping Chui & Kee Yong Lim
Centre for Human Factors and Ergonomics
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Nanyang Avenue Singapore 639798
Paper presented in the Human Computer Interaction International 2005: Human Factors Issues in Human-Computer Interaction, July 2005, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Abstract
The increasing use of teams has called for more research that can provide deeper understanding of the factors that will enhance team performance. In particular, understanding team process is vital for effective team performance. Communication, as one component of team process, plays an important role for team coordination, monitoring, feedback, backup, and other teamwork components. In this paper, the change in communication intensity with increasing mission novelty is investigated and the types of communication that will lead to effective cooperative behavior are determined. In the study, twelve helicopter pilots are randomly assigned into six two-person teams. The team consists of a pilot and copilot, with each performing different roles and assuming responsibilities, and accordingly their access to information and control. Three missions with increasing level of difficulty are simulated using a computer game. The experiments are video-recorded and team communications are transcribed and analyzed. It is found that team communication intensity forms an inverted U shape relationship with increasing workload. The results also demonstrate that the better performing team used easy to understand and straightforward communication, which ends up being more accurate. It is also established that frequency count of classified statements in communications does not reveal as much critical information on team processes as content and time analyses. Finally, an assessment of the communications with a focus on team behaviour along a timeline reveals accuracy, phrasing and timing to be of crucial importance to team effectiveness.