Abstract: Responders and decision makers can be trained through simulation tools where participants learn how to deal with an ongoing crisis and make decisions through a realistic, simulated environment using a game or gamification approach. Training through a simulated, virtual crisis tool would be a more affordable way of conducting a drill, as a supplement to field drills. In this paper, we describe the requirements' elicitation process for co-design of a virtual training tool for emergency management. The cooperative design process included researchers and end-users together to generate potential solutions for a defined problem. The elicitation process involved brain-storming, interviews and a workshop together with representatives from emergency stakeholders. A systematic qualitative data analysis was conducted. The paper reports our analysis results which serve as a basis for further development of an emergency management virtual training tool using an extreme weather scenario.

Abstract: The 2004 tsunami has generated a call for a global early warning system. Political issues may prevent this from occurring soon or at all. This paper explores previous experience with informal early warning systems from the Year 2000, Y2K, rollover. Informal early warning systems, IEWS, are cooperative systems formed outside of direct government control, usually from nonprofit or industry organizations. The two discussed utility Y2K IEWS were formed through an industry group and within a single multinational corporation. The paper concludes with lessons learned from the design and implementation of these systems.

Abstract: Several researchers and contingency agencies have suggested good practices for crisis management exercises. Resource-constrained practitioners in the field report difficulties finding cost-efficient ways to maintain exercise cycles. This paper draws on experiences from working with professional crisis response coordinators who adapted material for table-top exercises to learning management systems, executed the exercises and evaluated team performance. This paper discusses the elimination of bottlenecks and unexpected benefits arising from more flexible exercise designs in terms of synchrony, continuity, and location. While these concepts capture the essence of the various opportunities for flexibility, they need some supporting features in the design of digital exercises. This paper argues for putting emphasis on the writing/speech dichotomy when analysing exercise designs from the perspective of the entire exercise life cycle, including evaluations and preparations for further exercises. Additionally, how requests for individual answers are planned appears to be an effective instrument for efficient exercise design and evaluation during the conducting of an exercise.

Abstract: This paper presents a domain-level user, task and context analysis for response technology, based on sociological studies of disaster and disaster response. The analysis examines three dimensions of disaster-scale, kind and anticipability-that have been linked to differences in response characteristics, including differences in individual and organizational responders and behaviors. It yields a number of implications for design, and reveals five domain-specific design requirements. It also offers systematic characterizations of users, tasks and contexts of response technology, that begin to structure the user interface design space, laying a foundation for a theory of design. This work provides a conceptual basis to help researchers and designers recognize and address possible limitations of design decisions, leading, ultimately, to more usable and effective response technologies.

Abstract: Development of information systems support for crisis management in local communities must be based on the needs of the crisis management actors as well as capabilities of information technology (IT). IT provides extensive possibilities, but is difficult to adapt to the users' needs. A profound exploration of the needs of systems for crisis management is often neglected. Hence, the management of major crisis has been held back because of the lack of useful tools. This paper presents an architecture for system for the local communities. The development of the architecture was based on a needs analysis, including interviews with crisis management at a local community level. The architecture is also based on novel design issues that have lead to the development of a conceptual model structure called the mission support model whose main concepts mainly include (1) user roles, (2) services and (3) views.

Abstract: Ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) are widely recognised as important in IT innovation for crisis response and management. However, attention often struggles to get beyond theorising basic concepts, when the realities of how difficulties and opportunities manifest are complex and practical. Unless these realities are understood, solutions to ELSI will remain at the surface, missing opportunities to responsibly and creatively leverage the potential of IT in disaster response. This workshop brings together narratives of lived experiences of ethical, legal, and social issues encountered in the context of IT innovation in disaster response, and analyses of normative, policy and regulatory backgrounds. In this editorial, we motivate this turn to narrative, summarise the contributions that will be presented on the day, and set out some key questions.

Abstract: This paper discusses an experiment with a formative method for ethical impact assessment (EIA) in the context of IT design for multi-agency crisis management that draws on scenarios and role-playing to ground ethics in a broader socio-technical domain not just in user needs and values. Contextualising the EIA discussions in this way opened up new avenues for addressing ethical concerns, broadening the design context from a focus on usability to thinking creatively and collaboratively through ethical, legal and social implications.

Abstract: A crucial aspect for large-scale disaster management is an efficient technology support for communication and decision-making processes in command and control centers. Yet, experiences with the introduction of novel technologies in this setting show that field professionals tend to remain attached to traditional workflows and artifacts, such as pen and paper. We contribute the results of a comprehensive field study which analyzes how the information flow is currently performed within different units and persons in the command and control center. These findings provide insights into key aspects of current workflows which should be preserved by novel technological solutions. As our second contribution, by using a participatory design approach and based on our findings, we present a novel approach for computer support in command and control centers. This relies on digital pens and paper and smoothly integrates traditional paper-based workflows with computing, thereby combining the advantages of paper and those of computers.

Abstract: Collaborative teamwork is becoming more common in several domains including healthcare and disaster management. While collaborative teamwork can benefit from information system (IS) support, designing IS models to support collaboration is a significant challenge owing to the variations in tasks and people that must be supported, and the different contexts within which collaboration takes place. Collaborative teamwork can vary greatly because of context, which is the integration of diverse, dynamic, and heterogeneous needs for groups to achieve a specific goal. However in the literature there has been limited emphasis on how contextual underpinnings can be incorporated into IS design. This paper uses a case study of the design of a user-driven prototype disaster management IS. We used the think aloud method to capture participant thoughts while interacting with the IS prototype. The think aloud data was analyzed and used to develop an ontology of contextual considerations to support IS design.

Abstract: Emergency Management (EM) is experiencing a crisis of technology as technologists have attempted to innovate standard operating procedures with minimal input from EM. Unsurprisingly, there has yet to be a success. Instead, technologists have focused on consumer culture and fostered a slow-moving crisis as the gap between what consumers and EM can do is deep. At present, the most ubiquitous aspect of technology in disaster is its capacity to exacerbate response, create new kinds of disaster, and create consumer expectations that EM cannot meet. In the present work, we highlight how and why technological production needs to shift its ontological premises dramatically to meet the needs of technology for first responders. From supporting practice to taking a few steps back from the bleeding edge, we offer a range of suggestions based on the technological capacities of emergency management in the present and in the future.

Abstract: The paper outlines a set of principles for radical research in the field of information systems for crisis response and management. After every major disaster, there is a never-ending call for new solutions that could improve emergency and crisis response work. This paper presents confessional accounts from one research group on how design oriented research could adopt a design perspective and organize research that have substantial potential in improving emergency and response work through innovative design of information technology use.

Abstract: While a wide range of disaster apps are currently available, few address the topic of CBRNe (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and explosive) risks and threats. The proven value of disaster apps in emergency management and the unique ways in which citizens prepare for and respond to CBRNe incidents merit that such an app exist. However, disaster apps also have their limitations, namely uptake and accessibility. The PROACTIVE project is filling these gaps by co-creating together with vulnerable groups an accessible CBRNe disaster app. This article examines the results from four workshops held with the potential end-users recruited from vulnerable groups. Following the MoSCoW methodology, requirements were established and their relevance to the Universal Design principles discussed. For instance, it was found that the app Must have a less chaotic interface which would help meet the principle of simple and intuitive use. Lastly, the app redesign is showcased.

Abstract: Serious games are an effective tool for giving players a hands-on, immersive experience of crisis situations. To simplify the design of such games while ensuring their relevance, we propose a design method that is based on reference tasks. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated by the improved design of the serious game “Disaster in my Backyard” that has been played during ISCRAM Summer school 2013. The design incorporates humanitarian logistics, search-and-rescue and coordination tasks. We also present the lessons learned from this instantiation of the game and give an outlook towards future research, such as the evaluation of tools for crisis response and management through the use of serious games and reference tasks.