A Scalable, Time-Dependent Model of Shared Knowledge in Concurrent Spacecraft Design

*† This paper develops a scalable model of shared knowledge in concurrent spacecraft design. A metric of shared mental models based on common views of important design drivers is developed and used to build a network of shared cognition across a team. Using time-series survey data from 14 sessions of the Mission Design Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a linear relationship between pre-post stability of shared knowledge and mission concept maturity is found. Based on this result, the paper recommends that the design center consider implementing a period of planning and consensus building early in design sessions focused on immature or advanced concepts.

[1]  Thomas J. Allen,et al.  Managing the flow of technology: technology transfer and the dissemination of technological informat , 1977 .

[2]  David Krackardt,et al.  QAP partialling as a test of spuriousness , 1987 .

[3]  Deborah G. . Ancona,et al.  Demography and Design: Predictors of New Product Team Performance , 1992 .

[4]  Steven B. Andrews,et al.  Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition , 1995, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[5]  J. R. Larson,et al.  Groups as problem‐solving units: Toward a new meaning of social cognition , 1993 .

[6]  S. Mohammed,et al.  Team Mental Model: Construct or Metaphor? , 1994 .

[7]  G. Stasser,et al.  Expert Roles and Information Exchange during Discussion: The Importance of Knowing Who Knows What , 1995 .

[8]  Linda Argote,et al.  Socially shared cognition at work: Transactive memory and group performance. , 1996 .

[9]  Masanori Takezawa,et al.  Centrality in sociocognitive networks and social influence : An illustration in a group decision-making context , 1997 .

[10]  Gary Klein,et al.  Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions , 2017 .

[11]  Eduardo Salas,et al.  Planning, Shared Mental Models, and Coordinated Performance: An Empirical Link Is Established , 1999, Hum. Factors.

[12]  Gary Klein,et al.  Distributed Planning Teams , 1999 .

[13]  G. Northcraft,et al.  You have printed the following article : Why Differences Make a Difference : A Field Study of Diversity , Conflict , and Performance in Workgroups , 2007 .

[14]  J. Mathieu,et al.  The influence of shared mental models on team process and performance. , 2000, The Journal of applied psychology.

[15]  S. Mohammed,et al.  Team mental models in a team knowledge framework: expanding theory and measurement across disciplinary boundaries , 2001 .

[16]  Arthur S. Elstein,et al.  Holding Shared Versus Unshared Information: Its Impact on Perceived Member Influence in Decision-Making Groups , 2002 .

[17]  J. R. Larson,et al.  Informational Centrality and Member Participation During Group Decision Making , 2002 .

[18]  David B. Stagney.  The integrated concurrent enterprise , 2003 .

[19]  K. Klein,et al.  How Do They Get There? An Examination of the Antecedents of Centrality in Team Networks , 2004 .

[20]  G. V. D. Vegt,et al.  Learning and performance in multidisciplinary teams: The importance of collective team identification , 2005 .