Quantifying coordination work as a function of the task uncertainty and interdependence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of coordination in business processes by quantifying how the coordination load is affected by changes in task structure and task characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – A model is presented that quantifies the amount of coordination work as a function of the task characteristics analyzability and variability and the task structure factor of interdependence. To test the model, a management simulation game is used with a full factorial design of experiments. Two replications are conducted for each treatment. Validated questionnaires and time studies are used to obtain the data. Findings – Analyses of the experimental results indicate that as task analyzability decreases and task interdependence increases then the coordination load increases. The increase in coordination load is greater for changes in task interdependence than for changes in task analyzability. Practical implications – The experimental results indicate the time savings from doing tasks in parallel versus sequential are less than what would expected due to the increased interdependence between tasks and the resulting requirements for coordination. These results can be used to understand the trade-offs of different process configurations, primarily how coordination load changes when a process is changed from sequential to parallel. Originality/value – This research deviates from previous research in that the coordination load difference is measured when going from a sequential process to a parallel process. Most previous studies have shown differences but not the magnitude of the difference. Moreover, most previous studies have been at the organization level, while this research focuses on the business process level.