What to say when: Guidelines for Decision Making. An evaluation of a concept for cooperation in an APOC

Abstract

Because airports are currently a bottleneck in the ATM system research and development effort is spent in creating high performing airport operations. In order to actively influence airport performance, joint decisions made in an Airport Operations Control Center (APOC) are proposed. This idea raises several research questions; one is in how far guidelines for a structured communication process mitigate factors like conflicts and personality which might prevent an effective and efficient decision making in the APOC. This paper explores the impact of a concept for cooperation for airport stakeholders in a planning task. Four teams with four airport experts took part in a high-fidelity study. The guidelines significantly improved experienced team effectiveness. Results show that guidelines lead to a more pro-active, information driven decision making and mitigate some effects of individual interaction behavior.