Measuring Up: A Multilevel, Optimization-Based Approach to Multiteam System Performance Measurement

Megan Chan, Niloufar Izadinia, Andreas Waechter, Leslie DeChurch, and Noshir Contractor

Manuscript in preparation; please contact Megan for a working draft

Abstract: Multiteam systems (MTSs) are increasingly prevalent in organizations, yet existing methods to measure MTS performance fail to account for the interdependence and multi-level goal hierarchies inherent to these systems. This study proposes a novel, optimization-based approach to measuring MTS performance that mathematically incorporates structural and environmental dependencies across individual, team, and system levels. By specifying objective functions and constraints, this approach identifies theoretically optimal performance at each level of analysis and calibrates observed performance scores relative to computed best and worst feasible outcomes. Using data from 36 MTSs across 51 sessions performing a complex task across 11 long-duration space exploration analog missions, we validate the novel measures by demonstrating their convergence with traditional performance metrics and external predictors of performance captured via social network analysis. The multilevel, optimization-based measurement approach advances methods for quantifying MTS performance in a way that inherently considers interdependence across levels. It provides a rigorous yet flexible framework to evaluate how individual, team, and collective outcomes contribute to and constrain overall system effectiveness.

Related work:

Chan, M., Izadinia, N., DeChurch, L., Waechter, A., Contractor, N. (2023, April 19-22). Measuring Multiteam System Performance with Multi-Objective Optimization. [Poster Presentation]. SIOP Annual Conference, Boston, MA, United States.

Chan, M., Izadinia, N., DeChurch, L., Waechter, A., Contractor, N. (2022, October 16-19). A Quantitative Approach to Stratify and Measure Performance of Multi- Team Systems. [Conference Presentation]. INFORMS Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, United States.

Visualization of how novel performance measures are computed

Research supported by NASA awards NNX15AM32G, 80NSSC18K0221, and 80NSSC18K0276

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