Hans Abbink, Roel Van Dijk, Tamas Dobos, Mark Hoogendoorn, Catholijn M. Jonker, Savas Konur, et al. (2004). Automated support for adaptive incident management. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2004 – 1st International Workshop on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 69–74). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: The project CIM, started in 2003, addresses the problem of automated support for incident management. In this paper some intermediate results are shown, especially on automated support of analysis of errors in traces of incident management. For such traces it can be checked automatically which dynamic properties hold or fail. The potential of the approach is shown in the formal analysis of a given empirical trace. The approach can also be applied in conjunction with simulation experiments. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.
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Aurélien Acquier, Sébastien Gand, & Mathias Szpirglas. (2006). Stake S-holder management and crisis resilience a case study in a public transportation company. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 528–539). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Stakeholder perspectives on crisis management provide a useful descriptive framework for analyzing crises and making crisis narratives. However, their actionability for crisis management, i.e. possibility to use stakeholder management models into operational crisis management processes, remains an under-investigated question. The purpose of this article is to discuss the operational value of stakeholder frameworks for crisis management. Drawing on a qualitative case study of a successful crisis management process in a public transportation company, we investigate the activities set up by the crisis cell to manage internal and external stakeholders during the crisis. In our case, successful stakeholder management relied on: 1) good diagnosis capabilities for the design of an appropriate corporate positioning; 2) an ability to manage coherently a set of emerging and heterogeneous issues involving stakeSholders ; 3) the capacity to set up a tightly coupled form of organization, involving both crisis cell members and various anchorage points, i.e. specific actors involved in the project before the crisis, who were already in contact with key stakeholders as part of their day-to-day activities. We then discuss the practical and theoretical implications of this analysis and the potential value stakeholder perspectives for crisis management.
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Pablo Acuña, Paloma Díaz, & Ignacio Aedo. (2010). Development of a design patterns catalog for Web-based Emergency Management Systems. In C. Zobel B. T. S. French (Ed.), ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings. Seattle, WA: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: The design of Emergency Management Systems is an activity that requires knowledge from various related domains for providing a more complete and usable solution. In this context, design patterns including knowledge from previous experiences can be a useful source of information to support the development of this type of applications. In this paper, we introduce a catalog of design patterns for Web-based Emergency Management Systems collected from design principles, design patterns and existing implementations from involved areas, taking into account requirements particular to this domain.
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Adam Flizikowski, M. P., Anna Stachowicz, Tomasz Olejniczak, & Rafael Renk. (2015). Text Analysis Tool TWeet lOcator ? TAT2. In L. Palen, M. Buscher, T. Comes, & A. Hughes (Eds.), ISCRAM 2015 Conference Proceedings ? 12th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Kristiansand, Norway: University of Agder (UiA).
Abstract: Information about location and geographical coordinates in particular, may be very important during a crisis event, especially for search and rescue operations ? but currently geo-tagged tweets are extremely rare. Improved capabilities of capturing additional location from Twitter (up to 4 times improvement) are crucial for response efforts given a vast amount of messages exchanged during a crisis event. That is why authors have designed a tool (Text Analysis TWeet lOcator ? TAT2) that relies on existing open source text analysis tools with additional services to provide additional hints about people location. Validation process, complementing experimentation and test results, included involvement of end-users (i.e. Public Protection and Disaster Relief services and citizens during a realistic crisis exercise showcase. In addition, the integration of TAT2 with external tools has also been validated.
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Adam Widera, Chiara Fonio, Sandra Lechtenberg, & Bernd Hellingrath. (2018). Measuring Innovations in Crisis Management. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszeski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 1051–1062). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: Crisis management (CM) organizations regularly face the challenge to assess the potential impact of a change in their socio-technical setup. No matter if a new software, a new tool, a simple workflow or a broader organizational structure become available, CM organizations need to estimate the potential added value under a high degree of uncertainty. In general, the more reliable information about the new solution is available, the more informed the decisions are. One promising way in assessing the potential impact of new CM solutions can be found through its application in an as realistic as possible and an as secure as necessary setup. However, such artificial scenarios like simulation exercises hold the risk of measuring the performance of the solution itself rather than its contribution to the CM operation. In this paper we review the state of the art in measuring crisis management performance, discuss the results in the context of performance measurement in general and present a performance measurement approach supporting a structured assessment of innovative CM solutions applied within collaborative demonstration project.
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Ronja Addams-Moring, Markku Kekkonen, & Shushan Zhao. (2005). A simple taxonomy for mobile emergency announcement systems. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 309–316). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Mobile communications networks and devices can be and have been used by authorities to warn and instruct the general public during crises. However, our understanding of how mobile technologies could best be used for emergency announcements (public warnings) is currently limited. To clarify one part of this field of study, we define and describe a simple taxonomy for mobile emergency announcements (MEA) systems. The taxonomy has three categories: preplanned MEA systems, ad-hoc MEA systems and semi ad-hoc MEA systems. Differences in functional, security and other requirements were found between MEA systems belonging to different taxonomy categories, both concerning how each category of MEA systems can meet the common requirements, and concerning which requirements are the most important for each category of MEA systems. The differences between the categories were especially clear for these requirements: the understandability and credibility of the MEAs and the security of a MEA system.
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Aditya Irfansyah, Adam Widera, Mark Haselkorn, & Bernd Hellingrath. (2020). Current Trends and Future Challenges in Congestion Management. In Amanda Hughes, Fiona McNeill, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2020 Conference Proceedings – 17th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 622–636). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Traffic congestion creates multidimensional impacts that require stakeholders' integration and coordination. This paper tries to close the research gaps in congestion management by examining a case study of integrated solutions of congestion measures and analyzing future challenges in congestion management based on two selected factors. The authors develop the result from the literature study and an expert interview that provides a better perspective on the case study. The study generates a new perspective on reviewing the organizational aspect of integrated congestion management measures. Secondly, it starts a discussion on future challenges in congestion management and connects the domain of future mobility with congestion theories as an independent discussion.
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Kpotissan Adjetey-Bahun, Babiga Birregah, Eric Châtelet, Jean-Luc Planchet, & Edgar Laurens-Fonseca. (2014). A simulation-based approach to quantifying resilience indicators in a mass transportation system. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 75–79). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: A simulation-based model used to measure resilience indicators of the railway transportation system is presented. This model is tested through a perturbation scenario: the inoperability of a track which links two stations in the system. The performance of the system is modelled through two indicators: (a) the number of passengers that reach their destination and (b) the total delay of passengers after a serious perturbation. The number of passengers within a given station at a given time is considered as early warning in the model. Furthermore, a crisis management plan has been simulated for this perturbation scenario in order to help the system to recover quickly from this perturbation. This crisis management plan emphasizes the role and the importance of the proposed indicators when managing crises.
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Christine Adler, Lisa Jakob, Mirjam Haus, Lena Erfurt, & Marion Krüsmann. (2012). GABEK WinRelan® – A qualitative method for crisis research engaging crisis management personnel. In Z.Franco J. R. L. Rothkrantz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2012 Conference Proceedings – 9th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University.
Abstract: Qualitative research methods like GABEK WinRelan are advantageous tools to analyze and thereby improve crisis management planning and communication systems by interrogating crisis management personnel. Contrary to quantitative methods they help to identify, explore, and structure new important aspects in this field and to formulate more specific research questions. This paper describes the usage and advantages of the qualitative method GABEK WinRelan within crisis management research, particularly within the e-Triage project which aims at the development of an electronic registration system of affected persons in mass casualty incidents. Furthermore it addresses different corresponding research fields like stress within emergency missions and the role GABEK WinRelan could play in examining these research fields. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Ignacio Aedo, Daniel Sanz, Paloma Díaz, & Jorge De Castro. (2006). Modelling emergency response communities using RBAC principles. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 426–434). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: One of the main design challenges of any Emergency Management System (EMS) is the diversity of users and responsibilities that must be considered. Modelling the access capabilities of different communities of users is a relevant concern for which the RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) paradigm provides flexible and powerful constructs. In this paper we describe how we used an RBAC meta-model to specify at different levels of abstraction the access policy of a specific EMS called ARCE (Aplicación en Red para Casos de Emergencia). This approach has made it possible to face access modelling at earlier development stages, so that stakeholders got involved in analytical and empirical evaluations to test the correctness and effectiveness of the access policy. Moreover, since the RBAC meta-model is embedded into a web engineering method, we put into practice a holistic process which addresses different design perspectives (structure, navigation, presentation, interaction and access) in an integrated way.
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Alexandre Ahmad, Olivier Balet, Jesse Himmelstein, Arjen Boin, Maaike Schaap, Paolo Brivio, et al. (2012). Interactive simulation technology for crisis management and training: The INDIGO project. In Z.Franco J. R. L. Rothkrantz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2012 Conference Proceedings – 9th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University.
Abstract: To face the urgent need to train strategic and operational managers in dealing with complex crises, we are researching and developing an innovative decision support system to be used for crisis management and interactive crisis training. This paper provides an overview of current decision-support systems, simulation software and other technologies specifically designed to serve crisis managers. These findings inform the design of a new interactive simulation technology system, where a 3D Common Operational Picture (COP) is shared between tactile digital whiteboard in the command center and mobile devices in the field. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Aïdin Sumic, Emna Amdouni, Thierry Vidal, & Hedi Karray. (2022). Towards Flexibility Sharing in Multi-agent Dynamic Planning: The Case of the Health Crisis. In Rob Grace, & Hossein Baharmand (Eds.), ISCRAM 2022 Conference Proceedings – 19th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 274–284). Tarbes, France.
Abstract: Planning problems in a crisis context are a highly uncertain environment where health facilities must cooperate in providing health services to their patients. We focus on the health crisis in France due to the COVID19 pandemic. In fact, the lack of appropriate scheduling tools, resources, and communication leads hospitals to be submerged by infected patients and forced to transfer them to other hospitals. In this work we aim to provide a global solution to such planning problems to improve the current French health system. We introduce a cooperative approach called OPPIC (Operational Planning Platform for Inter-healthcare Coordination). OPPIC is based on a decentralized system, where health facilities plan is dynamic, flexible, robust to uncertainty, and respond to goals and optimization criteria. This paper proposed a first planning model to OPPIC and provided a first way of negotiation between health facilities based on their plan’s local and global flexibility.
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Alexander Almer, Thomas Schnabel, Johann Raggam, Armin Köfler, Roland Wack, & Richard Feischl. (2015). Airborne multi-sensor management support system for emergency teams in natural disasters. In L. Palen, M. Buscher, T. Comes, & A. Hughes (Eds.), ISCRAM 2015 Conference Proceedings ? 12th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Kristiansand, Norway: University of Agder (UiA).
Abstract: This paper describes the development of a multi-functional airborne management support system within the frame of the Austrian national safety and security research programme. The objective was to assist crisis management tasks of emergency teams and armed forces in disaster management by providing multi spectral, near real-time airborne image data products. As time, flexibility and reliability as well as objective information are crucial aspects in emergency management, the used components are tailored to meet these requirements. This article includes the individual system components as well as their performance using examples from lab tests and real-life deployments. Based on this, the impact of existing command and control processes as well as the benefits for time critical decision making processes are described based on expertise of the involved end users. In addition, it gives an outlook on future perspectives.
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Alexander Gabriel, Florian Brauner, Andreas Lotter, Frank Fiedrich, & Ompe Aimé Mudimu. (2018). The determination of critical components of European Rail Traffic Management systems towards cyber-attacks. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszeski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 291–303). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: “Recent events have shown the vulnerability of IT systems of companies, organizations or even governments to hacker attacks. At the same time, information technologies are becoming increasingly established and important in various industries (digitalization). With a view to the modern development of terrorism, cyber-attacks can be used to physically damage critical infrastructures (CI). This leads to a new dimension of cyber-attacks, which are called terrorist cyber-attacks. The following research contributes to the identification of weak information technology components of railway operating systems and thus improves the safety of public transportation in the context of the European railway traffic management system (ERTMS). The core of this paper is an extended literature research on security flaws in the ERTMS. The future introduction of a methodology for evaluating the criticality of information technology system components will build on this using cyber threats and public transportation as examples.”
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Alexander Gabriel, Florian Klein, & Frank Fiedrich. (2020). Modelling of Passenger Handling Processes in Railway Stations – A Mixed-Methods Approach. In Amanda Hughes, Fiona McNeill, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2020 Conference Proceedings – 17th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 580–592). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: The constantly increasing number of passengers using public transportation leads to an expansion of the ser-vices offered by public transportation companies. The existing transportation infrastructures, especially rail-way stations, can only partly cope with this rapid growth. There is already overcrowding on platforms and access routes, especially during disruptions caused by natural disasters or major public events. This crowding may result in personal injury or shutdown of operations for safety reasons. The research project CroMa aims at improving robustness, safety, security and performance of railway stations at peak loads. The paper contributes thereto by developing an approach to assess railway infrastructure in terms of the risk of overcrowding. The core of this research is to combine qualitative workshop results with quantitative database analysis. Furthermore, the paper gives an outlook on the ongoing process model development as a basis for a semi-quantitative evaluation tool for railway stations applicable by end users.
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Michael Alles, Alexander Kogan, Miklos Vasarhelyi, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, & Murray Turoff. (2004). Assuring homeland security: Continuous monitoring, control and assurance of Emergency Preparedness. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2004 – 1st International Workshop on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 1–7). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: This paper examines the potential relationships of Auditing and Emergency Preparedness with respect to the domain of the design of Emergency Response Information Systems. It proposes normative objectives for the integration of all these areas in the design of future organizational systems. It also proposes a series of steps to evolve in this direction and create a new interdisciplinary professional community to guide research and development for this field of endeavor. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.
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Alva Linhagen, Anton Björnqvist, & Peter Berggren. (2022). A Meta-evaluation of Swedish Evaluations of COVID-19 Pandemic Management. In Rob Grace, & Hossein Baharmand (Eds.), ISCRAM 2022 Conference Proceedings – 19th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 349–361). Tarbes, France: University of Agder (Norway).
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact om society. Different countries and organizations have chosen different approaches to manage this crisis. This paper aims to describes how public Swedish actors (county administrative boards, municipalities, and regional councils) evaluated their management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the paper aims to suggest improvements for crisis management strategies. Applying a meta-evaluation approach to open reports from the public organizations means collecting evaluation reports, determining if they fit the inclusion criteria, and if so, include them in the analysis. Included reports were categorized and given points indicating different types of merits. In addition, a thematic analysis of conclusions was conducted. 110 evaluation reports from 98 different organizations are included in the analysis. The importance of evaluating, having a structure for data collection, analysis, and reporting is reflected in the quality of the reports. Four identified themes offer an understanding of areas in need for development among Swedish regional councils, municipalities, and county administrative boards.
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Amina Saoutal, Nada Matta, & Jean-Pierre Cahier. (2015). Approach to support Situational Awareness within Inter-Organizational Collaboration in Crisis Response. In L. Palen, M. Buscher, T. Comes, & A. Hughes (Eds.), ISCRAM 2015 Conference Proceedings ? 12th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Kristiansand, Norway: University of Agder (UiA).
Abstract: Regardless of the type of crisis and its complexity as well as the difference of culture, objectives and priorities of the multitude organizations involved, emergency response requires effective communication in order to achieve situational awareness within inter-organizational collaboration, make decision and achieve their own objectives. However, actors are challenged by several problems. Among them, weak interaction and information exchange, unavailability of information at the right time etc. Our contribution outlined in this paper is suggesting an approach based on an empirical study conducted in France. The objective of this approach is to mitigate inter-organizational communication problems and support situational awareness (SA) by distributing needed information at the right time.
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Michael Ammann, Tuomas Peltonen, Juhani Lahtinen, Kaj Vesterbacka, Tuula Summanen, Markku Seppänen, et al. (2010). KETALE Web application to improve collaborative emergency management. In C. Zobel B. T. S. French (Ed.), ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings. Seattle, WA: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: KETALE is a database and web application intended to improve the collaborative decision support of the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) and of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI). It integrates distributed modeling (weather forecasts and dispersion predictions by FMI, source term and dose assessments by STUK) and facilitates collaboration and sharing of information. It does so by providing functionalities for data acquisition, data management, data visualization, and data analysis. The report outlines the software development from requirement analysis to system design and implementation. Operational aspects and user experiences are presented in a separate report.
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Ana Gabriela Núñez Avila, & Mª Carmen Penadés Gramage. (2019). Towards an organization certified in emergency plans management. In Z. Franco, J. J. González, & J. H. Canós (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management. Valencia, Spain: Iscram.
Abstract: QuEP is a framework that guides organizations in assessing and improving their emergency plan management by
following a set of principles, practices, and techniques at the different maturity levels established in the QuEP model.
Its main objective is to be applied to real cases to discover the state of an organization?s emergency plan management
and recommend techniques for improvement. In this paper, we describe the first application of QuEP as a prior step
to its implementation and possible use in official certifications for emergency plans with a guarantee of quality. So,
we have applied a real case in a UPV building towards the certification of the emergency plan management.
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Ana-Gabriela Núñez, Mª Carmen Penadés, & José H. Canós. (2016). QuEP: Building a Continuous Improvement of Emergency Plans Management. In A. Tapia, P. Antunes, V.A. Bañuls, K. Moore, & J. Porto (Eds.), ISCRAM 2016 Conference Proceedings ? 13th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Abstract: While different governments worldwide have published sets of recommendations-or even laws-for increasing preparedness, a reference framework to assess the level of compliance of organizations is still to come. For instance, emergency plans often remain stored in closets where they stay until some emergency or major legal change occurs. Consequently, achieving actual preparedness is difficult to assess. QuEP is a framework for the assessment and improvement of the management of emergency plans within organizations. It is inspired by the Total Quality Management strategy, and provides a hierarchy of emergency plan management maturity levels. The aim of QuEP is to guide organizations to assess and improve their emergency preparedness by following a set of principles, practices and techniques at the technical, human and strategic levels. In this paper, we show the model underlying the framework, and give details of the current framework evaluation processes.
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Ana-Gabriela Núñez, Mª Carmen Penadés, José H. Canós-Cerdá, & Marcos R. S. Borges. (2015). Towards a Total Quality Framework for the Evaluation and Improvement of Emergency Plans Management. In L. Palen, M. Buscher, T. Comes, & A. Hughes (Eds.), ISCRAM 2015 Conference Proceedings ? 12th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Kristiansand, Norway: University of Agder (UiA).
Abstract: The evaluation of the quality of emergency plans is an unresolved issue. While most research efforts have focused on the definition and improvement of planning methods and the associated tools, a reference framework allowing the assessment of emergency plans is still missing. In this paper, we report our initial work towards the definition of a quality framework for emergency plan management. To create it, we are borrowing results from more than one century of research on quality methods, with special emphasis in the newest Total Quality Management approaches that pay attention to technical, human and strategic concerns during the plan development process. The QuEP framework defines a number of planning principles and practices to define a maturity-driven layered model for the evaluation of organizations. We list the principles and practices, and describe its potential to be integrated with other emergency plan management frameworks.
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Ana-Gabriela Núñez, Sebastián Cedillo, Andrés Alvarado Martínez, & Ma Carmen Penadés. (2020). Towards the Building of a Resilient City able to Face Flood Risk Scenarios. In Amanda Hughes, Fiona McNeill, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2020 Conference Proceedings – 17th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 593–601). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Despite the efforts that have been made to inform the community about the possible environmental risks, there is still a general lack of information. Currently, we are working on a flood risk scenario focused on a proposal towards a resilient culture together with the support of Information Technologies (IT) as a way to manage information. The goal is twofold: (i) on the one hand, to manage data in a small scenario to analyze and process the data collected from sensors in different sites in a micro-basin. Data get from data processing such as flow and velocity will then be the input data for hydraulic models to predict floods downstream; (ii) on the other hand, to publicize the predictions and the data already processed means people can benefit from information on flood risks, and the different participants may change their perception and consider cooperating in improving resilience.
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Anastasios Karakostas, Stefanos Vrochidis, Yiannis Kompatsiaris, Boris Kantsepolsky, Jürgen Moßgraber, Stamatia Dasiopoulou, et al. (2018). beAWARE: Enhancing Decision Support and Management Services in Extreme Weather Climate Events. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszeski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 1136–1139). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: In every disaster and crisis, incident time is the enemy, and getting accurate information about the scope, extent, and impact of the disaster is critical to creating and orchestrating an effective disaster response and recovery effort. The main goal of beAWARE framework is to provide support in all the phases of an emergency incident. More specifically, we propose an integrated solution to support forecasting, early warnings, transmission and routing of the emergency data, aggregated analysis of multimodal data and management the coordination between the first responders and the authorities.
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Bo Andersson, & Jonas Hedman. (2006). Issues in the development of a mobile based communication platform for the swedish police force and appointed security guards. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 181–187). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: This paper presents the learning experiences from the development of a mobile-based communication platform, called OrdningsVaktsCentralen (OVC). OVC can be translated to Security Guard Central. OVC is designed to enable the Swedish Police Force (SPF) to comply with new legal requirements and enhance their collaboration with Appointed Security Guards (ASG). The focus of this paper is on the early phases of development; in particular on the specific technical issues such as interoperability and standards used in the development of mobile based systems. The learning experiences are as follows: firstly, when developing mobile based systems we suggest and recommend that the analysis phase should be enhanced and it should address the interoperability between mobile phones on one hand and operators on the other hand. Secondly, global and national standards, such as the MMS7 for sending multi-media messages, are not always standardized. It seems that operators and mobile phone manufacturers make minor alterations and interpretations of the standard and thereby some of the benefits found in standards disappear. Thirdly, mobile based communication platforms have a large potential for contributing to the field of emergency management information systems since they can be based on open and nationally accepted standards.
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