A semiotic interpretation of coordination in multiple planning

In multiple planning various plans made by various planners have to be coordinated. An example is patient admission planning in hospitals. Various coordination mechanisms can be discerned that integrate multiple plans, such as rules, meta-plans and mutual adjustment. We discuss these coordination mechanisms which require external communication lines and forms, embodied in various kinds of signs. It is known that software support of single planning already requires insight in problem solving processes of planners. In multiple planning this prerequisite is even stronger. Negotiation and intelligent information interpretation are not computer oriented tasks, yet. We argue that the conceptual framework of (cognitive) semiotics is valuable in the analysis and support of multiple planning situations.