Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) instantiation of the Systems Approach to Training for use in the Acquisition process. It is derived from the long established SAT process used for the development of individual training. A current concern for the MoD is how this process can be applied to collective training in the light of current acquisitions such as the Carrier Strike capability for the Royal Navy. The aim of this paper is to identify how the current TNA process can be enhanced to cater for collective training by incorporating additional models and tools to facilitate the analysis process.

Evaluation of collective organizations and tasks shows that the key additional elements which must be catered for in the TNA process are command and control, communication and teamwork. These are found to be consistent across the land, maritime and air domains. The analytical approach must embrace both the interactions between individuals and teams and the cognitive nature of these additional elements.

We demonstrate that a range of human factors methods which have proven utility in the military domain can be identified as potential methods for inclusion in a "Toolbox" of methods for collective TNA. In addition, models of command and control can be identified which may facilitate the development of generic training requirements for collective training. We also identify that further research is required to determine the exact nature of the contribution made by live training if an efficient and effective balance between live and synthetic training is to be achieved when determining training options for the collective domain.