The Seven Layer Model of Collaboration: An Exploratory Study of Process Identification and Improvement

In preparing for conflict, the US military must make complex decisions based on a vast amount of information in as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Military Decision Making Process (MDMP) has been developed to structure the efforts of a combat unit as they decide how to best implement the orders of a higher command. The process is highly collaborative, as staff officers assemble information necessary for the mission, conduct scenario analyses (war-games), and select and implement. Collaboration Engineers attended a week-long MDMP training camp to analyze the MDMP for opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes. To identify processes of improvement, the engineers used the Seven Layer Model of Collaboration (SLMC) which aids in the identification of the goals, deliverables, activities, patterns of collaboration, techniques, actions, and technologies associated with each process. We report in this study some of the more promising improvement opportunities found using the SLMC. We also report on some classes of problems observable across work practices within the MDMP, which may likely extend to other work practices. We end with a discussion of these classes and opportunities for future research.