Facilitate.com collaboration software turned observers into contributors during joint military concepts experiment

Brainstorming and decision-making software enhances effectiveness of large group brainstorming

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- for immediate release – The successful Pinnacle Impact 03 experiment hosted by US Joint Forces Command proved once again that Facilitate.com collaborative software for brainstorming and decision making significantly enhances the effectiveness of large group idea generation and problem solving.

For 9 days in May 2003, 170 senior military personnel, subject matter experts and "young turks" used Facilitate.com tools to bring diverse perspectives to the development of joint operations concepts that will form the basis of military strategy in the 21st century. Based on a survey taken at the conclusion of the experiment, 75% of the participants surveyed agreed that the use of collaborative software significantly enhanced the effectiveness of the experiment and 88% felt that the tools were so intuitive that they could be effectively used without any training. "The software enabled all of us to be participants yet not interrupt the exchange between the heavy hitters up front. No one was inhibited from making contributions," commented one participant.

Looking for news ways to structure an experiment that fosters innovation as well as critical thinking, USJFCOM’s J9 Experimentation Directorate made the software tools accessible over the internet to more than 100 invited observers representing various military branches and functions as well as contractors and international experts. A core team of senior representatives of the joint military branches worked through a series of complex future scenarios using a traditional voice and presentation meeting format. The observers provided simultaneous interactive commentary during the sessions using computers and the Internet that was captured for future analysis.

After the close of the experiment, USJFCOM analysts began processing and cross referencing the information with data spawned from prior experiments. "The software allowed us to generate high quality ideas at a significantly higher volume than we had thought possible," commented one of the analysts. Said Mike McCall, Chief Technologist for Facilitate.com, "We are pleased to have helped JFCOM provide an open forum for brainstorming to a large number of contributors while preserving the structure and process of a formal experiment."

About USJFCOM and Pinnacle Impact 03

As the transformation laboratory for the Department of Defense, USJFCOM turns to the Joint Experimentation Directorate (J9) to develop, explore, test, and validate 21st-century war fighting concepts that will be integrated into future joint forces training. PI03 is the second in a long-term series of experiments within USJFCOM's new concept development pathway that focus on solving a set of issues for future joint war fighting. For more information on USJFCOM J9 visit www.jfcom.mil/about/abt_j9.

About Facilitate.com

Since 1992 Facilitate.com has specialized in facilitation and collaboration software tools and techniques that dramatically enhance meeting productivity. Facilitate 7.5 helps generate, capture and formalize ideas with tools for capturing, categorizing, voting, surveying and building instant documentation.