Information-Decision-Collaboration Assessment: An Integrated Requirements Approach for Emergency Management Decision Support Systems
(2021) VBRM15 20211Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
- Abstract
- Modern emergency management is a demanding profession characterized by accelerated decision- making, dynamic information needs, and complex collaboration to execute mission objectives. Decision support systems in this setting must be suitably optimized in turn, with clear requirements to inform such design. To date, comprehensive approaches to capture these requirements remain underdeveloped, per a defined need in the literature.
This pilot study establishes the Information-Decision-Collaboration Assessment as an integrated method for eliciting these requirements, in order to inform effective development of such systems. The method records key tasks across all three aspects, and captures emergent themes which may further contextualize... (More) - Modern emergency management is a demanding profession characterized by accelerated decision- making, dynamic information needs, and complex collaboration to execute mission objectives. Decision support systems in this setting must be suitably optimized in turn, with clear requirements to inform such design. To date, comprehensive approaches to capture these requirements remain underdeveloped, per a defined need in the literature.
This pilot study establishes the Information-Decision-Collaboration Assessment as an integrated method for eliciting these requirements, in order to inform effective development of such systems. The method records key tasks across all three aspects, and captures emergent themes which may further contextualize this understanding. The method was developed through a review of similar frameworks for sociotechnical systems, and cohered with selected task analysis approaches, to arrive at a comprehensive means of assessment. The method was first trialled through a preliminary survey, then refined for the interview process presented as the central focus of this paper.
Results of this study produced a richly contextualized body of insights, which depicted critical tasks across information, decision-making, and collaboration needs of emergency management practitioners. Analysis of these results identified common themes, challenges, and success factors, concluding with directly stated requirements to serve such needs. In summary, the Information- Decision-Collaboration Assessment appears to be a suitable vehicle for understanding these requirements for the emergency management sector, and may be evaluated as a foundational approach from which to build further study. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- IDCA: Improving Emergency Management Decision Support Systems
Floods, hurricanes, heat, wildfire. As climate variability increases the risk of new, severe, or cascading hazards, the practice of emergency management is more complex than ever before.
Maintaining situation awareness in real-time is critical, given this dynamic risk landscape and a decreasing ability to rely on historic data for planning and analysis functions.
Decision support systems for the emergency management sector include a wide range of technologies to inform situation awareness, such as geospatial platforms, data aggregation streams, and analytical aids to assess risk and vulnerability. However, little research is found in the literature to inform their... (More) - IDCA: Improving Emergency Management Decision Support Systems
Floods, hurricanes, heat, wildfire. As climate variability increases the risk of new, severe, or cascading hazards, the practice of emergency management is more complex than ever before.
Maintaining situation awareness in real-time is critical, given this dynamic risk landscape and a decreasing ability to rely on historic data for planning and analysis functions.
Decision support systems for the emergency management sector include a wide range of technologies to inform situation awareness, such as geospatial platforms, data aggregation streams, and analytical aids to assess risk and vulnerability. However, little research is found in the literature to inform their design, from a whole-system perspective tailored to the needs of these professionals.
Requirements elicitation is the process by which such parameters are defined, across an established range of methods to inform both system and interface design. The user interview is a key preliminary step in this process, to deeply listen and contextualize important tasks which may be supported through the use of well-considered technology.
The Information-Decision-Collaboration Assessment, or IDCA, is an elicitation method and means of approaching this inquiry, through an integrated systems-focused approach which considers user tasks from the perspective of information, decision-making, and collaboration needs.
This pilot study has produced a preliminary methodology for this assessment, tested through in-depth interviews with subject matter experts possessing >10 years of experience at the local, regional, and national level. The results of this study provided a richly contextualized body of information, depicting key tasks as well as directly stated requirements for the design of decision support systems to support the work of these individuals. Further, important insights were derived regarding social and organizational dynamics, to inform further study and adaptation of the method.
In summary, the IDCA may be seen as a suitable starting point to develop a well-rounded elicitation framework for decision support systems in the emergency management setting, as supported by this pilot study and the presentation of its outcomes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9066418
- author
- Decker, Jessica LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- VBRM15 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Decision support systems, emergency management, emergent collaboration, distributed situation awareness
- language
- English
- id
- 9066418
- date added to LUP
- 2021-10-05 15:02:51
- date last changed
- 2021-10-05 15:02:51
@misc{9066418,
abstract = {{Modern emergency management is a demanding profession characterized by accelerated decision- making, dynamic information needs, and complex collaboration to execute mission objectives. Decision support systems in this setting must be suitably optimized in turn, with clear requirements to inform such design. To date, comprehensive approaches to capture these requirements remain underdeveloped, per a defined need in the literature.
This pilot study establishes the Information-Decision-Collaboration Assessment as an integrated method for eliciting these requirements, in order to inform effective development of such systems. The method records key tasks across all three aspects, and captures emergent themes which may further contextualize this understanding. The method was developed through a review of similar frameworks for sociotechnical systems, and cohered with selected task analysis approaches, to arrive at a comprehensive means of assessment. The method was first trialled through a preliminary survey, then refined for the interview process presented as the central focus of this paper.
Results of this study produced a richly contextualized body of insights, which depicted critical tasks across information, decision-making, and collaboration needs of emergency management practitioners. Analysis of these results identified common themes, challenges, and success factors, concluding with directly stated requirements to serve such needs. In summary, the Information- Decision-Collaboration Assessment appears to be a suitable vehicle for understanding these requirements for the emergency management sector, and may be evaluated as a foundational approach from which to build further study.}},
author = {{Decker, Jessica}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Information-Decision-Collaboration Assessment: An Integrated Requirements Approach for Emergency Management Decision Support Systems}},
year = {{2021}},
}