The focus of this chapter is the design and development of Information and Communication Technologies that support collaborative work and processes in command and control teams, more specifically, in joint emergency response operations. The unique contexts and varying circumstances of response operations have an impact on how collaborative work and interactions among commanders emerge, as well as on the extent to which Information and Communication Technologies are used. 

This research gives attention to role improvisation in command and controlteams designated for crisis and disaster response operations in aninternational context. The paper reports a study, which had the goal todevelop, on the bases of real response operations, a role-playing simulationto explore and study role improvisation in highly realistic situations. Thestudy was based on a single-case, the command staff of the SwedishResponse Team. The objective of the study was achieved by (a) identifyingcritical areas concerning role improvisation of the command staff, (b)proposing a model-based simulation design that incorporates these areas,and (c) preparing and executing a role-playing simulation based on thisdesign. The critical areas were identified from two previous responseoperations. The analysis utilized a phenomenological approach, and wasbased on twenty-two interviews and three workshops. The identified critical areas were integrated in the simulation design by means of the initial set-up,scenario stimuli, and interactions with the simulation staff. This was basedon a synthesis of the models of command and control and responseoperations, scenario and tasks, simulation approach and manipulation of theimprovisation variables. The developed simulation was a scenario-basedreal-time role-playing simulation with a progressively unfolding scenario.The scenario was based on events taking place during the 2007 Californiawildfires. The simulation was evaluated by assessing the subjective realism.The paper reports experience from designing and conducting the roleplayingsimulation. It identifies demands and requirements, which have tobe met in order to simulate highly realistic situations. It also demonstrateshow, on the bases of real response operations, such simulations can bedesigned. Lastly, it also identifies areas that require attention in order o usethe role-playing simulations to explore and study role improvisation.

This paper describes a study, which aimed to document the work practice ofa team of commanders responding to an emergency, and to identify areasand activities, that may be enhanced by the use of command and controltools. The study was based on a “human-in-the-loop” simulation withemergency management commanders as participants. Communicationanalyses – episodic analysis, socio-metric status and communication roles –were used to assess coordination among the commanders. The resultsindicate that the commanders used informal arrangements within theestablished command and control structures to perform various informalfunctions and take on diverse communication roles across organizational anddomain boundaries. Cross-domain and cross-organizational knowledge wasthe most important enabler of this type of coordination. General toolsproviding methods and aids to indicate and support informal functions andcommunication roles were identified as absent.

The operational use of earth observation technologies by expert teams in thecrisis response domain is a critical socio-technical process. The uniquecontext and characteristics of every crisis have an impact on the extent towhich these technologies, such as computer-based tools for objectidentification, feature recognition, and change detection, will be used, andhow the actual work and the interactions of expert teams deploying thetechnologies will emerge. Beyond the mere technical characteristics offunctioning and operating the earth observation technologies, crucialprerequisites for their successful application in a crisis situation arepredominantly set by “soft” factors such as management, process control,and clear and accurate communication. The knowledge of these factors isessential in order to build and train expert teams capable of using thesetechnologies and performing effectively under a wide variety of situationsand conditions. This chapter reviews experience and lessons learned from a simulation of operational deployment of earth observation technologies byexpert teams in rapid crisis response. The exploitation of these technologiesby expert teams while responding to a nuclear emergency scenario isstudied. On the basis of the scenario-based exercise methodology, a real-timesimulation was prepared and executed. In this simulation, three teamscomposed of experts were given the task of providing rapid mappingproducts within thirty-three hours. During this period the teams had accessto satellite imagery as well as off-the-shelf and custom computer-based tools.This chapter identifies opportunities and constraints regarding the practicalapplication of earth observation technologies by expert teams in rapid crisisresponse. The chapter also suggests areas for further research.

This thesis concerns command and control (C2) work at the tactical level in emergency and crisis response operations. The presented research addresses two main research questions. The first question is whether it is feasible to simulate and study C2 work in the initial stages of response operations by means of role-playing simulations. If so, the second question is how to develop and execute role-playing simulations in order to explore this type of C2 work in a methodologically sound way. The presented research is based on simulations as methodological means for qualitative research. The utilized simulation approach is scenario-based real-time role-playing simulations grounded in models of C2 work and response operations. Three simulations have been conducted based on this methodology and are reported in this thesis. Simulation I focused on the work practice of cooperating commanders whose activities may be enhanced by the use of artifacts. Simulation II concerned the issues of operationalizing advanced technological artifacts in rapid response expert teams. Simulation III gave attention to the role improvisation in C2 teams designated for international operations. The results from the simulations and from the work conducted and presented in this thesis contribute with knowledge and experience from using role-playing simulations to study C2 work. This includes the methodological aspects of designing and conducting role-playing simulations such as scenarios, realism, evaluation and simulation format and control. It also includes the identification of the main application and problem areas for which the methodology is suitable, that is explorative qualitative inquiries and evaluation studies. The thesis provides new insights in C2 work with respect to adaptive behavior and improvisation. The thesis also identifies areas that need to be considered in order to further develop the role-playing simulation approach and its applicability.

Modern decision-support systems for command and control may lead to radical organizational and technological changes. This paper describes a methodology to support designers and developers of such system in order to identify this type of changes in the design process. The methodology is based on a shorter series of low-fidelity simulations. The analyses do not focus on individual actions of the decision-support system operators, but instead on impacts of the systems on situated and joint actions of the command and control teams in terms of communication and coordination. The simulation series presented in the paper shows how the use of a decision-support system combining real-time data from various sensors led to changes in the content and structure of the communication as well as the resource coordination. Findings from the discussed simulations suggest that more attention should be given to possible impacts of decision-support systems on the joint actions of the command and control teams, as well as how these teams- actions are situated within the larger command and control system. 

This thesis explains how semi-coordinated or separated utilization of information and communication technologies may affect collaborative work between different emergency management organizations, and their capabilities to perform joint tasks during emergency responses. Another aim is to explore the modeling of emergency management and data collection methods with respect to utilization of these technologies.

The theoretical basis for the thesis consists of system science, cognitive system engineering, communication, informatics, simulation, emergency management, and command and control. Important notions are the joint cognitive systems concept and the communication infrastructure concept. The case study method and the real-time role-playing exercise approach are the main methodological approaches.

On the basis of two main studies, geospatial data and related systems are studied as an example. Study I focuses on emergency management organizations' abilities to collaborate effectively by assessing their communication infrastructure. Study II, on the other hand, highlights the emerging effects in use of data in collaborative work when responding to a forest fire scenario.

The results from the studies, and from the general work conducted and presented here, show that the semi-coordinated or separated utilization of the technologies affects (a) how well the organizations can collaborate, (b) the capabilities to carry out collaborative tasks during crises and disasters, and (c) to what extent the technology can be used in real-life situations. The results also show that the joint cognitive system notion and the real-time role-playing exercise approach provided new ways to conceptualize and study the emergency management and the command and control system.

This paper tests the claimed benefits of using geographical information systems (GIS) in emergency response operations. An experimental study comparing command teams using GIS and paper-based maps is presented. The study utilized a combined approach using microworld simulations together with physical artefacts. Participants in the experiment took the role of command teams, facing the task of extinguishing a simulated forest fire. A total of 132 persons, forming 22 teams, participated in the study. In eleven of the teams, the participants were given access to GIS with positioning of fire-brigades as well as sensor data about the fire outbreak. In the other eleven teams, the participants were using paper-based maps. The result shows that teams using GIS performed significantly better than teams with paper-based maps in terms of saved area. Communication volume was considerably reduced in the case of GIS teams. Implications of these results on GIS are discussed as well as methodological considerations for future research.

This paper describes and discusses analysis of an emergency management exercise. In the exercise scenario, different emergency management organizations jointly try to cope with a forest fire and related incidents. The Extended Control Model is utilized for examination of the establishment of en emergent emergency response organization. Ambiguity in how functions are to be handled in a large event, indicating vulnerabilities in face of larger crises; functions moving across roles during the evolving event; and recognizable phases of a response are uncovered. This is assessed by utilizing episodic analysis of the communication between different functions and roles in the participating emergency management organizations. The results indicate requirements for future information and communication technologies, and occurrences that can be explored in future studies.

In this paper, methodological issues in research and training of complex command and control structures in emergency management are addressed. In particular, a methodological approach combining real-time role-playing exercise, after action review and observations is presented. An explorative study - ALFA-05 - utilizing this approach is described. A brief overview of methodological aspects of preparation and execution is given. Further, experience gained and methodological lessons learned are also discussed. Finally, real-time role-playing exercise in combination with other methods is suggested as a feasible method for researchers and exercise managers to tackle present and future command and control in complex settings, where interaction and communication are in focus. In addition, areas for further development of the real-time role-playing exercises as a research method are suggested.