Robert Bell, & Elizabeth Avery Gomez. (2011). Business continuity for small business owners: Do the tools fit their need? In E. Portela L. S. M.A. Santos (Ed.), 8th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: From Early-Warning Systems to Preparedness and Training, ISCRAM 2011. Lisbon: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Business continuity planning for private sector organizations has not reached the level of readiness as has the public sector. This disparity has reached national attention as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security addressed it in a statement, “ensuring Americas small businesses have the critical information and training they need to better respond to disasters will strengthen the entire nations preparedness and resilience (DHS, 2010).” The release of this statement and the DHS program (PS-Prep) was a promise to provide the necessary tools to small business owners so they could build effective business continuity plans. The major contributions of this research will be to provide an evaluation of the applicability of PS-Prep to small businesses, and to provide the needs assessment for parallel research of leveraging the current capabilities of a Business Emergency Operations Center in the development of a Virtual Small Business Emergency Operations Center (VSBEOC).
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Art Botterell, & Martin Griss. (2011). Toward the next generation of emergency operations systems. In E. Portela L. S. M.A. Santos (Ed.), 8th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: From Early-Warning Systems to Preparedness and Training, ISCRAM 2011. Lisbon: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: For more than half a century the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been a key component of emergency management (EM), homeland security and business continuity practice. Changes in the technical, threat, economic and social environments are placing new pressures on the concept of the EOC in the public, private and community sectors. Investigation of the desirable attributes of a “Next Generation EOC” has led to alternative EOC roles and configurations. This paper describes emerging pressures on, and trends in, emergency and business contingency management systems, and describes a research program to explore solutions to both new and persistent design challenges.
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Michael Hiete, & Mirjam Merz. (2009). An indicator framework to assess the vulnerability of industrial sectors against indirect disaster losses. In S. J. J. Landgren (Ed.), ISCRAM 2009 – 6th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Boundary Spanning Initiatives and New Perspectives. Gothenburg: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Natural and man-made hazards may affect industrial production sites by both direct losses (due to physical damage to assets and buildings) and indirect losses (production losses). Indirect losses, e.g. from production downtimes, can exceed direct losses multiple times. Thus, the vulnerability of industrial sectors to indirect losses is an important component of risk and its determination is an important part within risk analysis. In this paper a conceptual indicator framework is presented which allows to assess the indirect vulnerability of industrial sectors to different types of disasters in a quantitative manner. The results are useful for information sharing and decision making in crisis management and emergency planning (mitigation measures, business continuity planning), since the developed indicator system helps to take the complex phenomenon of industrial vulnerability and the underlying interdependencies into account. Besides the identification and conceptual motivation of the indicators, methodical aspects such as standardization, weighting and aggregation are addressed.
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Joeri van Laere, & Kristens Gudfinnsson. (2022). Continuous Systematic Situation Monitoring: Pitfalls and Possibilities. In Rob Grace, & Hossein Baharmand (Eds.), ISCRAM 2022 Conference Proceedings – 19th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 460–468). Tarbes, France.
Abstract: Situation pictures are helpful to make sense of what is happening and to prevent further escalation. These situation pictures are typically text- or map-based and focus on the current effects of the crisis. For long-lasting transboundary crises that impact many critical infrastructures and different parts of society directly and indirectly, such situation pictures have limitations. Crisis management teams might benefit from continuous monitoring of societal performance indicators, so the current situation can easily be compared with historical and future data to reveal trends and escalations. This research project explored how a successful approach for systematic monitoring of indicators in crime prevention could be transferred to crisis management. Several pilot studies revealed nine challenging pitfalls and six promising possibilities. The findings of this study can inform future research on how continuous systematic situation monitoring can strengthen societal resilience.
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Oussema Ben Amara, Daouda Kamissoko, Frédérick Benaben, & Ygal Fijalkow. (2021). Hardware architecture for the evaluation of BCP robustness indicators through massive data collection and interpretation. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 71–78). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Recently, the concept of robustness measurement has become clearly important especially with the rise of risky events such as natural disasters and mortal pandemics. In this context, this paper proposes an overview of a hardware architecture for massive data collection in the aim of evaluating robustness indicators. This paper essentially addresses the theoretical and general problems that the scientific research is seeking to address in this area, offers a literature review of what already exists and, based on preliminary diagnosis of what the literature has, presents a new approach and some of the targeted findings with a focus on the leading aspects, having a primary objective of explaining the multiple aspects of this research work.
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Rob Grace, Sanjana Gautam, & Andrea Tapia. (2023). Continuity of Operations Planning in Public-Safety Answering Points during the COVID-19 Pandemic. In V. L. Thomas J. Huggins (Ed.), Proceedings of the ISCRAM Asia Pacific Conference 2022 (pp. 173–180). Palmerston North, New Zealand: Massey Unversity.
Abstract: Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning helps ensure that municipal agencies maintain essential functions when disasters threaten critical infrastructures. COOP planning is especially important for Public-Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), which must continue to answer 911 calls and dispatch first responders during crises. However, COOP planning guidelines often focus on threats to cyber-physical infrastructures rather than outbreaks of infectious disease that threaten the human work arrangements—social infrastructures—agencies rely on to perform essential functions. This study reports preliminary findings from interviews with U.S. PSAP officials who developed plans to decentralize 911 facilities, networks, and personnel to maintain essential functions during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggest revisions to COOP planning guidelines that consider requirements for redundant, diverse, and interdependent cyber-physical-social infrastructures.
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Anne-Francoise Rutkowski, Willem Van Groenendaal, Bartel A. Van De Walle, & Jan Pol. (2004). Decision support technology to support risk analysis and disaster recovery plan formulation: Towards IT and business continuity. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2004 – 1st International Workshop on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 127–132). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: The paper presents a four-phase action research project that was (and still is) conducted at the department of Information Management Customer Support and Operations (IM\CS&O) of a large multi-national company. The department is in charge of ICT-service continuity and has to produce ICT recovery plans that are integrated with the organization's overall Business Continuity plan. Interviews, Group Support System (GSS) technologies as well as a risk survey have been used to gather information and identify risks and threats. A systematic quantitative classification, measuring the impact of loss of ICT services on the company's business processes in terms of cost and risk will allow in the near future to utilize an economic decision model to prioritize the core activities of training and implementation of a recovery disaster plan. The research has made clear to the involved protagonists the necessity to share information, to develop awareness, and to formulate a shared recovery disaster plan to ensure ICT/business continuity and/or recovery when ICT disruptions occurs. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.
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Cláudio Sapateiro, & Pedro Antunes. (2009). An emergency response model toward situational awareness improvement. In S. J. J. Landgren (Ed.), ISCRAM 2009 – 6th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Boundary Spanning Initiatives and New Perspectives. Gothenburg: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: When facing emergency scenarios, several contingent factors may strongly condition the pre-defined response procedures. The proposed approach takes the perspective that an emergency response tool may guide the response effort. The tool adopts a conceptual model grounded on existing situation awareness models and research work done with High Reliability Organizations. The model structures the emergency management process in a set of dimensions that should be collaboratively correlated by the involved participants in order to mitigate the disruptive situation. An instantiation of the proposed approach is also described in the paper, focusing on IT service desk teams addressing emergency incidents that may compromise business continuity.
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Annie Searle. (2010). A seat at the table for operational risk. 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: What role should operational risk leaders have in the executive suite? This paper argues that, when nervous CEOs ask “What can go wrong? How can we get ahead of the curve?”, they should look to their operational risk leaders. Those leaders oversee corporate and information security as well as business continuity, crisis management and disaster recovery programs inside companies. That makes them ideally qualified to take the process of crisis management, including analysis of aggregate risk across all silos – To the CEO and then into the boardroom when the need arises, before the corporate crisis is full-blown.
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Viavattene Christophe, Priest Sally, Owen Damon, Parker Dennis, Micou Paula, & Ly Sophie. (2016). INDRA Model: For A Better Assessment of Coastal Events Disruptions. 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: Natural hazards such as extreme coastal events can generate indirect impacts extending far beyond the exposed areas and the direct aftermath of the event. The recognition of such impacts in risk assessment is essential for preparing, mitigating against such events and for increasing the resilience of coastal communities. However the assessment is often limited to the direct impacts. This paper proposes new methodologies for assessing the indirect impacts of coastal storm events. Eight impacts are considered in the approach: household displacement, a financial recovery of households and businesses, business supply chain disruption, ecosystem recovery, risk to life, utility and transport disruptions. These methodologies are incorporated in the open-source INDRA model (INtegrated DisRuption Assessment) to compare and identify hotspots at a regional using a multi-criteria analysis.
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Xiang Yao, Murray Turoff, & Starr Roxanne Hiltz. (2010). A field trial of a collaborative online scenario creation system for 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: In Emergency Management and Business Continuity Planning, scenarios are a widely used tool. Existing scenario creation systems allow distributed groups to create scenarios together but have limited collaboration support. This study developed and evaluated a solution to provide various types of collaboration support around a knowledge structure at the core of a collaborative scenario creation system called Collario. Following the Design Science paradigm, it evolved through four iterations into a working prototype. Several evaluation methods, including protocol analysis and field study, were employed to evaluate the design effects and obtain user feedback. The results of the first field trial are described in this paper. They indicate that the system is useful to support creation and discussion of emergency scenarios in virtual teams and to share knowledge and experiences among geographically distributed emergency professionals and researchers. It was also found that the system is not hard to learn and use.
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