Disaster responsive planning: the role of societal forces in implementing software applications

Abstract

Open source software development is frequently used to serve human society, especially in finding solutions for managing and planning disaster situations such as floods, droughts and tsunami incidents. Careful consideration of the technical accuracy as well as social acceptance is essential to guarantee the sustainability of software development. Understanding the interaction between technology and human behaviour is vital in open source software development in terms of minimizing the negativities after the implementation. The social aspects of software development often being neglected or not being considered well enough in practical filed. The paper discusses the societal factors that can attribute when implementing open source disaster relief management platforms. Humanitarian disaster relief coordination involves some actors with different levels of power and authority. By using theories of multilevel governance and power relations, this paper focuses on understanding the consequences that may arise when implementing common open source platforms, especially in disaster management sector in developing counties. Finally, the article provides recommendations to minimize such obstacles for better functionality and the sustainability of the platform.