Working in the Virtual Environment

1. Working in the Virtual Environment Practical Experience Don.Gulliksen@US.Army.mil 973-935-2680

2. The Battlefield • network of men and machines • composed of Army, Navy, AF, Marines • composed of NATO, coalition forces • all must execute missions collaboratively • location of friends and foes • identification of current tactical capability of each • coordination across all organizational tiers • tactical decisions that support strategic goals • a logistics / supply system that • provides infrastructure (roads, bridges, airfields, buildings) • provides supplies (food, medical, fuel, ammo) • provides maintenance (repair parts, diagnostics, support)

3. The Development Team • multinational members (international standards committees) • joint forces (Army, Navy, AF, Marines) • multiple R&D centers (armaments, missiles, automotive, etc.) • constantly changing requirements (Vietnam, Cold War, Iraq) • thousands of development partners, suppliers, mfr’s • located throughout the world • all with different schedules • all with different levels of commitment • all funded from different sources

4. Old Approach • make each weapon better than your enemy’s • the best tank • the best rocket • the best fighter airplane • the best artillery piece • make each weapon capable of operating autonomously • give it its own sensors • give it a large ammo capacity • give it its own targeting algorithms • give it redundant weapons for varied threats • design and build it with one team at one location • expensive and slow • optimized for a specific enemy • unable to operate in a multinational networked battlefield

5. New Approach • the battlefield as a system of systems • each weapon system dependent on the others • each weapon system modeled prior to building prototypes • models run in battlefield simulations to eval performance • simulation network is distributed across all R&D centers • each center provides weapon system models as req’d • each center provides developer expertise as req’d

6. The Challenge • hundreds of scientists and engineers working together • developing common network interfaces • operating on common battlefield terrains • using compatible computers, O/S, languages, databases, etc • massive configuration control issues • colossal resource (people / equipment) scheduling issues • continuous discussion to determine the path forward

7. The Result • we struggled with the available tools • email • phone calls • travel to meetings • we needed the next generation of tools • blogs • wikis • twitter • we needed the next level of training • social networking in a business environment • awareness of virtual team challenges and capabilities • system engineering in a highly virtual environment