Jan Maarten Schraagen

Research area

In line with the UT’s motto of High Tech – Human Touch, this chair studies how brittle technologies influence joint cognitive system performance. More powerful technological support will be introduced, facilitated by advances in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Big Data.

However, every form of technological support has a capability envelope, that is, it is restricted in the conditions under which it can operate. We need to know how system design affects human performance when this capability envelope is exceeded and what guidance is available for the design of joint cognitive systems so that they can be resilient when these capability envelopes are exceeded.

The focus of this chair is to study the characteristics, qualities and attributes of resilient teams and organizations and the integral role of technology therein. My ambitions are to achieve a better understanding of what structural communication dynamics make teams resilient in the long run to anomalous situations and deriving training and design recommendations from this understanding.

Recent results

• How do teams adapt their communication processes in critical situations? Rather than studying critical situations lasting a couple of minutes, I focused on situations lasting for hours. I studied a pediatric cardiac surgical team across many surgical procedures varying in criticality, as well as the famous Apollo 13 Mission Control team led by Flight Director Gene Kranz.
• Employing advanced Relational Event Modelling techniques, I discovered that these resilient teams flattened their communication structures only in the most critical situations. In all other situations, they will maintain their institutional roles and will use closed-loop communication as long as possible.
• It is a good thing that teams keep using their established communication patterns as demand increases. This keeps the information flowing and ensures everyone is on the same page. Yet, when demand becomes too high, gaps begin to appear and teams need to adjust their communication strategies. A larger focus on information sharing and less centralization seems to be a pervasive strategy of excellent teams in highly critical situations.

PhD supervision

• Erika van Wijk (Tech4People UT funding)
• Lida David (signature PhD grant; UT funding)

Top publications

• Ward, J.M.C. Schraagen, J. Gore, & E.M. Roth (eds.), “The Oxford Handbook of Expertise”. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
• Z. David & J.M.C. Schraagen, “Analysing communication dynamics at the transaction level: The Case of Air France Flight 447”, Cognition, Technology & Work, 20(4), 637-649, 2018
• W. Siegel & J.M.C. Schraagen, „Beyond procedures: Team reflection in a rail control centre to enhance resilience”, Safety Science, 91, 181-191, 2017