Requirements for Standards and Commonality with Regard to Knowledge Based Systems for Coalition Operations

The theme of the paper is: what is the impact that knowledge based systems for Coalition Operations have on the requirement for standards and commonality? Do knowledge based systems mitigate or compound the need for standards? The authors have fifteen or more years of experience in research and development of knowledge based prototype systems for use by diverse groups and virtual organizations. In all these initiatives, the degree and type of standardization became an issue. There were various approaches taken to satisfy the need and/or desire for standards, such as, common environments, common plan representation, common planning process, common hardware, common user, etc. The paper presents the authors’ view on several of the techniques used, lessons learned, and the applicability to the domain of Coalition Operations. Insights are also provided into cognitive issues based on culture with regard to terminology, training, operational concepts and planning processes.