Task and resource coordination in human teams

Distributed decision making and coordination in multiperson teams are studied. The problems of resource allocation, in which a team shares a limited pool of resources to process a mix of tasks under various overlaps in team responsibility, are addressed. The modeling approach is to blend normative mathematical theories for team decision making with descriptive facets that capture known and observed human cognitive limitations and biases. Three modeling efforts in resource allocation and task sequencing are described: the first is for a dyad, the second for a three-person flat organization, and the third for a three-person team plus a leader. The resulting normative descriptive models show an excellent ability to replicate individual and team data across a wide range of independent variables and provide insight into the process of human decision making in distributed organizations