Enhancing cognitive readiness: Instruction and assessment

摘要

The need to mitigate the effects volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity characterises the modern project environment. At the project team level, this need requires coordination by competent team members highly proficient in efficient decision-making. Project team members and teams must demonstrate a capacity in adaptability to recognise patterns in a chaotic project situation, modify problem solutions associated with these patterns and implement plans of action based on these identified solutions to respond to threats uncertainty, opportunities and risk efficiently. In this paper, the authors address an instructional approach based on the "Theoretical framework for training team cognitive readiness" [1] to enable project teams to become cognitively ready. Linking cue recognition strategies to behavioural responses in support of adaptive team performance make this possible. The key to effective instruction for project teams is the authenticity of the cognitive processes practised in the training environment based on available knowledge to project team members. The IPMA Individual Competence Baseline version 4 (ICB4) framework for competence development of project members is the proposed knowledge base for effective instruction in project management. Environmental cues are factored together with the ICB4 and assessment measured based on the "key competence indicators". Environmental cues are "responsible for triggering rapid pattern recognition processes that lead to initial problem solutions" [2]. To act efficiently from the team coordination standpoint, only accurately assessed project situation could enable a team to engage the appropriate behaviours necessary to decision-making. When a team or team member recognises "that either the team has inaccurately assessed a situation or a new cue suggests the team is on the wrong solution path, then the team must rapidly coordinate an adaptive response (i.e., change its behaviours) [1, p.14]". Team adaptability has more to do with how teams effectively deal with altered and/or unplanned events [3]. Choose the right response for Decision-making to eliminate the cause of deviation.