Let's Think Together! Assessing Shared Mental Models, Performance, and Trust in Human-Agent Teams

An emerging research agenda in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work focuses on human-agent teaming and AI agent's roles and effects in modern teamwork. In particular, one understudied key question centers around the construct of team cognition within human-agent teams. This study explores the unique nature of team dynamics in human-agent teams compared to human-human teams and the impact of team composition on perceived team cognition, team performance, and trust. In doing so, a mixed-method approach, including three team composition conditions (all human, human-human-agent, human-agent-agent), completed the team simulation NeoCITIES and completed shared mental model, trust, and perception measures. Results found that human-agent teams are similar to human-only teams in the iterative development of team cognition and the importance of communication to accelerating its development; however, human-agent teams are different in that action-related communication and explicitly shared goals are beneficial to developing team cognition. Additionally, human-agent teams trusted agent teammates less when working with only agents and no other humans, perceived less team cognition with agent teammates than human ones, and had significantly inconsistent levels of team mental model similarity when compared to human-only teams. This study contributes to Computer-Supported Cooperative Work in three significant ways: 1) advancing the existing research on human-agent teaming by shedding light on the relationship between humans and agents operating in collaborative environments, 2) characterizing team cognition development in human-agent teams; and 3) advancing real-world design recommendations that promote human-centered teaming agents and better integrate the two.

A Network-Based View on Extreme Expedition Team Composition in Alpine Tourism

Conceptually drawing on network theory as its theoretical lens, this study examines two prime notions of network configuration of commercial expeditions. Exploring the role of both structural holes and network closure as indicators of team configuration for those venturing out in such extreme adventure, this study clarifies the impact of social structures, network closure, and structural holes in particular on performance outcomes in the context of expedition mountaineering. Presence and bridging of structural holes did turn out to be a significant predictor for the success or failure of an expedition. The findings show network closure to significantly influence the performance of mountaineering teams that make for a successful ascent. The capacity to span structural holes, commonly portrayed as serving as an eye-opener for options otherwise not found, does not appear to assist teams that make for successful ascents, however.

A National Survey of Palliative Care Team Compositions

Purpose: It is unclear how well palliative care teams are staffed at US cancer centers. Our primary objective was to compare the composition of palliative care teams between National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers and non-NCI-designated cancer centers in 2018. We also assessed changes in team composition between 2009 and 2018. Methods: This national survey examined the team composition in palliative care programs at all 61 NCI-designated cancer centers and in a random sample of 60 of 1252 non-NCI-designated cancer centers in 2018. Responses were compared to those from our 2009 survey. The primary outcome was the presence of an interprofessional team defined as a palliative care physician, nurse, and psychosocial member. Secondary outcomes were the size and number of individual disciplines. Results: In 2018, 52/61 (85%) of NCI-designated and 27/38 (71%) non-NCI-designated cancer centers in the primary outcome comparison responded to the survey. NCI-designated cancer centers were more likely to have interprofessional teams than non-NCI-designated cancer centers (92% vs 67%; P = .009). Non-NCI-designated cancer centers were more likely to have nurse-led teams (14.8% vs 0.0%; P = .01). The median number of disciplines did not differ between groups (NCI, 6.0; non-NCI, 5.0; P = .08). Between 2009 and 2018, NCI-designated and non-NCI-designated cancer centers saw increased proportions of centers with interprofessional teams (NCI, 64.9% vs 92.0%, P < .001; non-NCI, 40.0% vs 66.7%; P = .047). Conclusion: NCI-designated cancer centers were more likely to report having an interprofessional palliative care team than non-NCI-designated cancer centers. Growth has been limited over the past decade, particularly at non-NCI-designated cancer centers.

Team Composition Revisited: A Team Member Attribute Alignment Approach

Research methods for studying team composition tend to employ either a variable-centered or person-centered approach. The variable-centered approach allows scholars to consider how patterns of attributes between team members influence teams, while the person-centered approach allows scholars to consider how variation in multiple attributes within team members influences subgroup formation and its effects. Team composition theory, however, is becoming increasingly sophisticated, assuming variation on multiple attributes both within and between team members—for example, in predicting how a team functions differently when its most assertive members are also optimistic rather than pessimistic. To support this new theory, we propose an attribute alignment approach, which complements the variable-centered and person-centered approaches by modeling teams as matrices of their members and their members’ attributes. We first demonstrate how to calculate attribute alignment by determining the vector norm and vector angle between team members’ attributes. Then, we demonstrate how the alignment of team member personality attributes (neuroticism and agreeableness) affects team relationship conflict. Finally, we discuss the potential of using the attribute alignment approach to enrich broader team research.

The Impact of Human Critical Success Factor on ERP System Implementation

<p><em>Many researchers have investigated the critical success factors in ERP system implementation. The previous study has examined four primary human critical success factors (competence, behavior, team composition, and communication) and based on study literature performed by the author, there were many studies found that top management support also has crucial role in ERP implementation. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of top management support, competence, behavior, team composition, and communication in ERP implementation.</em><em>This study was conducted in three stages. First, review sources and scientific literature relevant to this research. Second, analyze the findings and recommendations of previous research to determine the component of variable x. Third, conduct research using a quantitative approach through a questionnaire survey. </em><em>Questionnaires were distributed to employees from various company that involved directly in ERP implementation. </em><em>This study found that all five variables positively correlated to project success and only team composition variable that significantly positively correlated to project success. This study offers ERP project managers the crucial factors needed to be concerned for the project success.</em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords: </em></strong><em>ERP, Human Critical Success Factors.</em></p><p><em><br /></em></p>

Mathematical model of software development project team composition optimization with fuzzy initial data

Increasingly frequent changes in demand for products, reducing product life cycles, changes in the business environment during a crisis, the innovative nature of projects, the complexity of forecasting external and internal conditions, the impact of the human factor lead to increased uncertainty and inability to plan team activities with a given degree of accuracy. In this regard, the subject matter of the article is the task of creating an adaptive project team that can work effectively in the mentioned above conditions. This task is especially relevant for the sphere of software development. The sphere is dynamic and characterized by frequent changes in product requirements, technologies, working conditions, and restrictions on project implementation. Agile approaches are used to manage such projects, which can help the team respond to uncertainties and frequent changes. To date, there are many agile approaches to project management, but the issue of selecting team members in such approaches is insufficiently covered. Therefore, this work formalizes the task of deciding on the selection of software development team members, considering the uncertainty and subjectivity of the information that affects the selection of candidates for the team. The task of the work is to create a decision-making model based on the use of the mathematical apparatus of fuzzy sets and methods of operations research. Such a model should allow considering the uncertainty of estimates of project requirements and the level of competence of team candidates. The result is a mathematical model of a two-criterion constrained optimization problem. The first objective function is aimed at finding a team composition that maximizes the maximum competencies of its members. The second criterion is aimed at forming a team with the maximum sum of competencies for all indicators, considering the weight of each indicator. The first constraint assumes that at least one team member meets the competency requirements expressed by a specific indicator. Additionally, it is required that the available time fund of the team members allows the project to be completed on time. It considers the limitation on the salary of the team. Conclusions. Solving the problem in accordance with the proposed mathematical model will allow making a team as readily as possible to meet the existing and new requirements for the project staff. The last circumstance is especially important when implementing a software development projects.