Abstract
Abstract : A fundamental problem in reaping the benefits of using an Open Architecture (OA) approach to developing integrated warfare systems (IWS) is the requirement for the multiple parties involved to collaborate. This was less of a problem when single vendors managed the entire acquisition life cycle. To take advantage of the potential of OA to use common off the shelf software modules, multiple vendors, greater access and involvement of the acquisition professional and future users of the IWS, collaborative information technology is a necessary ingredient. And, to make collaborative tools useful in the IWS acquisition life cycle, users must leverage their competence with the collaborative tools.. To shed light on this requirement, this paper introduces the construct of 'Collaborative IT Tools Leveraging Competence' as the ability of various OA work groups involved in the IWS acquisition life cycle to effectively leverage collaborative IT tools to enhance their group performance. Collaborative IT Tools Leveraging Competence is conceptualized as a second-order construct formed by the group?s effective use of the following six key IT functionalities: workspace sharing, conferencing, file sharing, scheduling, chat, and email.