Design considerations for a virtual information center for humanitarian assistance/disaster relief using workflow modeling

Abstract

There are innumerable human and organizational circumstances when free flowing information is essential for effective decision-making. In a closed system with limited boundary scanning, information handling is a fairly manageable task [School Library Journal, 39 (1993) 146]. However, where sources of data and/or decisions are high volume encompass a large geographic area and cover a gamut of organizational entities, information gathering and fusing can be daunting [FEMA, Publication No. 229 (4) (1995)]. This paper analyzes the workflow typical in a disaster scenario and discusses the design considerations for a virtual information center (VIC) that can both efficiently and effectively coordinate and process a large number of information requests for disaster preparation/management/recovery teams. The proposed design is domain independent, uses a net-centric approach and can be readily exported to many other governmental and organizational decision environments. The prototype version of the system uses the object-oriented model in connecting to multiple databases across the Internet and has all the essential features that can readily be cloned to enlarge the system's scope.