Improving Decision Making in Crisis Response through Critical Thinking Support

Abstract

In this study, we describe how to use innovative techniques to improve the decision-making process in crisis response organizations. The focus was on building situation awareness of a crisis and overcoming pitfalls such as tunnel vision and information bias through using critical thinking. We started by observing typical difficulties in crisis management in a field study. The essential elements of concern were a deficit in sharing and communicating understanding and a patchy overview of the topics communicated, within as well as between teams. Communication frequently did not entail the reasoning behind a decision that was made. We therefore developed a critical thinking tool that made the reasoning process more explicit and at the same time more robust by tying it to specific hypotheses. We studied a candidate support tool in a controlled setting and found that people made better judgments, particularly in situations where they would be prone to decision biases. We subsequently extended the critical thinking tool to a team setting. We list a number of requirements that are essential for support systems that intend to limit tunnel vision and alleviate communication and coordination problems in crisis response organizations.