Information Sharing Among Disaster Responders - An Interactive Spreadsheet-Based Collaboration Approach

Recent natural disasters have led crisis management organizations to revise their protocols so as to rely on the contribution of a wider range of actors, including simple citizens as well as expert operators, to support decision making activities. Reliable and timely information sharing among members of distributed teams of disaster responders has become paramount for the success of the overall crisis management process. In this paper we propose a crisis management system based on spreadsheet-mediated collaboration among on-site responders and decision makers. To share data a common spreadsheet artifact has been developed by using a participatory design approach which is accessed through mobile user interfaces. The evaluation results showed that the use of the spreadsheet artifact has resulted in more effective decision making relating to set of earthquake management scenarios in high-risk areas located in Italy.     

面向协同设计系统的分布式群决策支持技术研究

在探讨业务处理中间件的分布计算模式、多主体控制以及分布式问题处理多库管理技术基础上,该文重点分析群体决策支持的协问设计系统分布计算环境;提出并实现了领域问题求解策略、应用模块的模型化管理方法以及分布式问题求解及其过程监控.同时深入研究协同设计系统业务处理中间件的信息资源共享和分布式问题求解的多维信息交互过程,实现了协同设计系统开放式群体决策集成开发平台.最后以预研项目为研究背景,实现了设备设计的产品集成化开发设计,取得了明显的实际应用效果.     

Organisational Issues in Implementing an Information Sharing Framework: Lessons from the Matata Flooding Events in New Zealand

This paper presents a critical review and analysis of issues in implementing electronic data and information sharing frameworks for organisations involved in response activities during disaster. An implementation focused approach is used to understand end‐user needs and develop tools that meet their operational requirements. A case study of New Zealand roading organisations examines how information is currently shared both within and between organisations to support crisis decision‐making, and the potential benefits and implications of enhanced data and information sharing frameworks. Preliminary results show that considerable performance gains in response activities during disasters can be achieved provided technology is designed to work with and enhance existing operating structures.     

Traceability and management of dispersed product knowledge during design and manufacturing

Product development processes comprise highly creative and knowledge-intensive tasks that involve extensive information exchange and communication among geographically distributed teams. Due to the geographical and institutional separation between the different systems involved in the product lifecycle, product knowledge sharing is becoming a key issue in the information systems of extended enterprises. This paper addresses the issue and challenges of product knowledge traceability during the product development. The aim of this research effort is to enhance the sharing and use of product knowledge acquired during the development process using traceability information.A standardized approach is proposed to trace and share product knowledge and key constructs to support traceability during the product development process are identified and formalized. This research effort is based on the premise that an important step towards achieving product knowledge sharing is providing traceability across various product knowledge elements that are used in product development phases, i.e. design and manufacturing. Two disjointed but complementary case studies illustrating the benefit of traceability are presented. The potential role of traceability is described, first to support the decision making process during engineering change management (ECM), and second to support product-oriented modelling for knowledge sharing and exchanging to meet the quality requirements. The proposed approach has been implemented using the MEGA Suite tool and applied to each of the case studies and could be integrated to PLM systems currently in use.     

A Knowledge Management Framework for the Support of Decision Making in Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief

The major challenge in current humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR) efforts is that diverse information and knowledge are widely distributed and owned by different organizations. These resources are not efficiently organized and utilized during HA/DR operations. We present a knowledge management framework that integrates multiple information technologies to collect, analyze, and manage information and knowledge for supporting decision making in HA/DR. The framework will help identify the information needs, be aware of a disaster situation, and provide decision-makers with useful relief recommendations based on past experience. A comprehensive, consistent and authoritative knowledge base within the framework will facilitate knowledge sharing and reuse. This framework can also be applied to other similar real-time decision-making environments, such as crisis management and emergency medical assistance. Received 9 October 2000 / Revised 6 January 2001 / Accepted in revised form 5 March 2001     

Decision-enabled dynamic process management for networked enterprises

Enterprises in today’s networked economy face numerous information management challenges, both from a process management perspective as well as a decision support perspective. While there have been significant relevant advances in the areas of business process management as well as decision sciences, several open research issues exist. In this paper, we highlight the following key challenges. First, current process modeling and management techniques lack in providing a seamless integration of decision models and tools in existing business processes, which is critical to achieve organizational objectives. Second, given the dynamic nature of business processes in networked enterprises, process management approaches that enable organizations to react to business process changes in an agile manner are required. Third, current state-of-the-art decision model management techniques are not particularly amenable to distributed settings in networked enterprises, which limits the sharing and reuse of models in different contexts, including their utility within managing business processes. In this paper, we present a framework for decision-enabled dynamic process management that addresses these challenges. The framework builds on computational formalisms, including the structured modeling paradigm for representing decision models, and hierarchical task networks from the artificial intelligence (AI) planning area for process modeling. Within the framework, interleaved process planning (modeling), execution and monitoring for dynamic process management throughout the process lifecycle is proposed. A service-oriented architecture combined with advances from the semantic Web field for model management support within business processes is proposed.     

城市突发公共卫生事件应急指挥系统空间数据模型设计——以“合肥地区非典防治决策支持系统”为例

该文以合肥地区非典防治决策支持系统为例,分析了城市突发公共卫生事件应急指挥决策支持系统的需求,阐述了基于数字城市空间信息基础设施,利用地理信息系统(GIS)技术,整合数字城市信息化资源,建设城市突发公共卫生事件应急指挥决策支持系统的总体设计和技术实现。     

A framework for data-driven informatization of the construction company

With the advent of big data era, the construction industry has focused on processing large quantities of engineering data and extracting their value. However, inaccurate manual entries and delayed data collection have created difficulties in making full use of information. Meanwhile, difficulty sharing data and weak interoperability of data among business information systems also leaves company headquarters without the resource integration that can facilitate decision making. To overcome these challenges, we proposed a big data infrastructure called the enterprise integrated data platform (EIDP) for use by construction companies. We discuss a case study, and offer a framework for future business improvement that contributes to closed-loop construction supply chain management, cost management and control, knowledge discovery, and decision making. The proposed informatization solution provides a theoretical basis for realizing data sharing and interoperability between business management and project management. On this basis, it will help construction companies to improve the efficiency of both company operations and project delivery by optimizing the business process and supporting decision making.     

Cooperative situation assessment in a maritime scenario

In large‐scale, complex domains such as space defense and security systems, situation assessment and decision making are evolving from centralized models to high‐level, net‐centric models. In this context, collaboration among the many actors involved in the situation assessment process is critical to achieve a prompt reaction as needed in the operational scenario. In this paper, we propose a multiagent‐based approach to situation assessment, where agents cooperate by sharing local information to reach a common and coherent assessment of situations. Specifically, we characterize situation assessment as a classification process based on OWL ontology reasoning, and we provide a protocol for cooperative multiagent situation assessment, which allows the agents to achieve coherent high‐level conclusions. We validate our approach in a real maritime surveillance scenario, where our prototype system effectively supports the user in detecting and classifying potential threats; moreover, our distributed solution performs comparably to a centralized method, while preserving independence of decision makers and dramatically reducing the amount of communication required. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Pareto-based negotiation in distributed multidisciplinary design

The process of distributed engineering design calls for a methodology making use of the most recent advances in optimization-based design including multidisciplinary and multiobjective optimization. In distributed design, the participating teams do not have access to the design problems of other teams but may exchange limited information about their own current designs, making negotiation among themselves a key mechanism to reach a desired compromise which, nevertheless, is also a Pareto design to the original problem. A mathematical model of this distributed but decomposable design process is posed and solved using Lagrangian relaxation, while Pareto optimality is equivalently converted to single-objective optimality by means of multicriteria decision making strategies. The proposed coordination algorithm allows negotiation among the teams (subproblems) by sharing only limited information that is restricted to values of optimization quantities. The proposed modeling and solution scheme is applied to a numerical example representing the design of vehicle subsystems and components.     

Transboundary crisis management under the volcano: The case of the Icelandic ash cloud

This paper discusses the intricacies of external transboundary crises, namely those cross‐border threats whose management requires coordination among EU and non‐EU countries. Specifically, it explores the extent to which European integration theories shed light on the coordination of external transboundary crisis responses by assessing the weight and role of the actor constellations involved in the civil aviation response to the 2010 Icelandic ash cloud crisis. The use of social network analysis as a methodological tool generates novel empirical evidence on the configuration of crisis management structures. The analysis shows that many EU Member States led decision‐making, whereas supranational organizations were instrumental in the coordination of the ash cloud crisis response. The centrality of these bodies contrasts with the peripheral position of most interest groups. This paper also suggests that external transboundary crises present complex management dynamics that distinguish them from generic transboundary threats. For example, the response to the ash cloud crisis was not commanded by the European Economic Area/European Free Trade Association countries where its epicentre was located. The empirical analysis was based on information extracted from a survey to experts involved in the management of this episode, as well as from ten semi‐structured elite interviews.     

The European Union's capacities for managing crises

This article draws on a comprehensive new data set of crisis management capacities at the European Union level to highlight key patterns in their development and use. Organised within the categories of detection, sense‐making, decision‐making, coordination, meaning‐making, communication, and accountability, the data show considerable accumulation of capacities in detection and sense‐making, while decision‐making capacities lag behind. We find that most capacities are sector‐oriented rather than cross‐sectoral, and reside primarily within the European Commission rather than other EU institutions. Comparing the data to previous studies, we note that capacities overall are increasing and some are undergoing evolution; for example, horizon‐scanning tools once limited to collecting information have increasingly been given an analytical, “information enrichment” function akin to sense‐making.     

Constructing,evaluating and visualizing value and utility functions for decision support

Formal methods of decision analysis can help to structure a decision making process and to communicate reasons for decisions transparently. Objectives hierarchies and associated value and utility functions are useful instruments for supporting such decision making processes by structuring and quantifying the preferences of decision makers or stakeholders. Common multi-attribute decision analysis software products support such decision making processes but they can often not represent complex preference structures and visualize uncertainty induced by uncertain predictions of the consequences of decision alternatives. To stimulate strengthening these aspects in decision support processes, we propose a set of visualization tools and provide a software package for constructing, evaluating and visualizing value and utility functions. In these tools we emphasize flexibility in value aggregation schemes and consideration and communication of prediction uncertainty. The use of these tools is demonstrated with an illustrative example of river management decision support.     

基于云计算的营销决策支持系统

设计并实施了一种基于云计算的营销决策支持系统,和其他管理决策子系统发生交互,共同构成了完整的现代企业经营决策支持系统.系统的数据库采用分布式设计,使得系统既有独立处理本地数据库的能力,也可读取异地数据库中的数据.系统模型库包含多种营销因素的决策模型,并采用模型组合的思想,将复杂的决策问题通过模型之间的组合来实现.在流程设计上充分考虑人机交互,将用户的经验判断纳入到决策过程中.完成了系统的开发,并用仿真数据进行了系统测试,结果表明系统基本运行稳定,各子模块衔接良好,与其他子系统实现了数据共享.     

An agent-based approach to knowledge management in distributed design

The collaboration process among individuals with heterogeneous skills in a distributed virtual environment represents a crucial element of the extended enterprise. In order to achieve global optima in design, there is an increasing need for design teams to establish and maintain cooperative work through effective communication, co-location, coordination and collaboration at the knowledge level. Because of the distributed nature of users and information resources involved in the design process, the need for appropriate knowledge management tools is imperative. This paper proposes an agent-based architecture to support multi-disciplinary design teams that cooperate in a distributed design environment (DDE). Using ontologies and multi-agent systems (MAS), the proposed framework aims to optimise design process operation and management by supporting the dialogue among distributed design actors. Received: February 2005/Accepted: January 2006     

Ontology-based data integration and decision support for product e-Design

Currently, computer-based support tools are widely used to facilitate the design process and have the potential to reduce design time, decrease product cost and enhance product quality. Although there are promising information systems to manage product lifecycle and product-related data, including product data management (PDM) and product lifecycle management (PLM), significant limitations still exist, where information required to make decisions may not be available, may be lacking consistency, and may not be expressed in a general way for sharing between systems. Moreover, there remains little support for decision making that considers multiple complex technical and economical criteria, relations, and objectives in product design. To address these problems, this paper presents a framework for an ontology-based data integration and decision support environment for e-Design. The framework can guide designers in the design process, can make recommendations, and can provide decision support for parameter adjustments.     

Making Decisions on Innovation: Meetings or Networks?

Within some streams of thinking in the management of innovation and product development, the crux is the manager's active engagement in the evaluation, selection and control of the various activities through gate and portfolio meetings in which information is presented and decisions are made that manage innovation projects at a distance. This traditional managerial perspective regards the meetings as (important) ‘obligatory passage points’ but cannot explain a number of observations that reveal few decisions being made at those meetings. A network process perspective on the management of innovation is derived as an alternative to the normative linear view. This alternative perspective makes it possible to explain how innovation projects actually consist of myriad actions, negotiations, and micro‐decisions in the effort to create strong networks, leaving few decisions for the official gate and portfolio meetings. Through the analysis of two cases, this paper demonstrates how project managers work to stabilize the network in order to involve numerous human and non‐human actors and to encourage more and more of them into joining the network. Successfully establishing stable networks and successfully filling the templates for their projects leaves little room – and requires little intervention – for decision makers at portfolio meetings, where approvals are sought rather than decisions made. This study explains how gate and portfolio management meetings are, in some instances, better viewed as checkpoints rather than as decision meetings, how decision making is displaced from the meetings, and how the use of gate and portfolio management systems have created a number of mandatory templates which must be dealt with by the project managers. These mandatory documents function as boundary objects between and among the different worlds of the actors involved and establish new obligatory passage points in the management process; thus boundary objects become transformed into obligatory passage points. Implications for managers and research are outlined, including methods of dealing with the management of product innovation projects when the focus shifts from planning, preparations and decision making toward the co‐creation of technology and markets and involves interessement of human and non‐human actors.     

Enterprise systems and demand chain management: a cross-sectional field study

Increased product variety, compressed cycle times, supply chain network based competition and the uncertainty in business environment are forcing organizations to shift their emphasis towards demand chain management. Though enterprise systems and supply chain management software solutions are well in place in most of the large enterprises in Australia, their ability to support demand chain management approach is not yet known. This paper investigates the adoption of demand chain management in Australian organizations using cross-sectional qualitative field study. It found that the adoption is limited despite the organizational capabilities and sound digital platforms. Standardization, integration, visibility and control of processes and information, enabled by enterprise systems, are helping the organizations in improving their ability to sense and shape market demand and customer needs, and build agility into their decision making processes. Attempts to synchronise operating and finance cycles and collecting market intelligence and sharing of that across the supply chain are some of the initiatives that have started showing benefits. Adopting the demand chain management initiatives such as establishment of market intelligence mechanism, building agility into decision making processes, sophisticated usage of optimization tools embedded in software solutions, and process frameworks such as Supply Chain Operations Reference are helping organizations to achieve both agility and control simultaneously.     

Towards knowledge-based systems in clinical practice: development of an integrated clinical information and knowledge management support system

Given that clinicians presented with identical clinical information will act in different ways, there is a need to introduce into routine clinical practice methods and tools to support the scientific homogeneity and accountability of healthcare decisions and actions. The benefits expected from such action include an overall reduction in cost, improved quality of care, patient and public opinion satisfaction. Computer-based medical data processing has yielded methods and tools for managing the task away from the hospital management level and closer to the desired disease and patient management level. To this end, advanced applications of information and disease process modelling technologies have already demonstrated an ability to significantly augment clinical decision making as a by-product. The wide-spread acceptance of evidence-based medicine as the basis of cost-conscious and concurrently quality-wise accountable clinical practice suffices as evidence supporting this claim. Electronic libraries are one-step towards an online status of this key health-care delivery quality control environment. Nonetheless, to date, the underlying information and knowledge management technologies have failed to be integrated into any form of pragmatic or marketable online and real-time clinical decision making tool. One of the main obstacles that needs to be overcome is the development of systems that treat both information and knowledge as clinical objects with same modelling requirements. This paper describes the development of such a system in the form of an intelligent clinical information management system: a system which at the most fundamental level of clinical decision support facilitates both the organised acquisition of clinical information and knowledge and provides a test-bed for the development and evaluation of knowledge-based decision support functions.     

Bordering on Reality: Findings on the Bonfire Crisis Management Simulation

On 6 April 2005 a national crisis management simulation, code named Bonfire, was held at various locations in the Netherlands. The Bonfire scenario was built around a terrorist threat followed by an actual attack in the Amsterdam ArenA and a hostage‐taking. Bonfire's scale and realism made it unique for the Netherlands. Its complexity led to unplanned incidents that actually made it even more realistic, because this is something that occurs in every crisis situation. This evaluation shows that the co‐ordination, internal provision of information and crisis communication – the three core elements of crisis management discussed in this report –were mainly in the hands of the decision‐makers themselves. This put so much pressure on them that they were rarely able to make strategic decisions for the medium or long term. Support staff had been expected to ease pressure on the leadership by preparing their meetings and working out the results. This did not go as planned, however. Since they did not always have access to the latest information, they could not provide optimum support. As a result, they were by‐passed, so that they had even less access to information. The vicious circle was thus complete. It was observed that new counter‐terrorism structures installed in the Netherlands after ‘9–11’ functioned as foreseen, but that decision‐making required the input of far more parties than had been envisaged. In the course of the operations, therefore, the various levels established a more or less spontaneous link with the standard crisis management structures.