Presentation of Kim Weyns at the ISCRAM 2009 conference

1. Dependability of IT Systems in
Municipal Emergency Management
Kim Weyns, Martin Höst

2. Contents
• Background
• Research methodology
• Findings
Future work: IDEM3
•
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

3. IT Systems in Municipal Emergency
Management
In the aftermath of a crisis (natural disaster,
blackout, terrorist attack, …) governmental
actors have an important role
• Crisis relief
• Information
• Sustaining normal operations
=> Dependence on IT systems
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

4. Dependability
If we are critically dependent on IT systems,
then the systems need to be trustworthy.
If we do not know whether the systems are
sufficiently dependable, we should not become
too dependent on them.
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

5. Dependability
We need two kinds of information
• How dependable is the system?
• How critically do we need the system?
 Hard to measure
 Changes over time
 Emergency situations ≠ normal situations
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

6. Example:
• Storm Gudrun, January 2005
• Non-functioning communication
system delayed repairs and relief
efforts
• GSM system
– more critical than expected
– more vulnerable than
expected
Image: Banverket, storm damage after Gudrun
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

7. Case study
• What are municipalities doing today?
• What methods do they use?
• What do they have problems with?
• Where is the most room for improvement?
– Testing?
– Defining requirements for their system?
– Risk analysis?
 Not much research available
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

8. Interviews
Explorative case study:
• Open interviews at two municipalities
• With emergency managers and IT
personnel
• Collecting documents
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

9. Interview Analysis
Transcribed and analysed by categories:
• Organisation
• Risk analysis
• Communication
• Service level agreements (SLA)
• Practical examples and problems
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

10. Findings
• System Responsibility
– Specific systems
– Common systems
• Internal Communication
– Lack of understanding
• Service Level Agreements
– No measurements
– No guarantees
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

11. Findings (2)
• Emergency Management
– Planning, scenario analysis, …
(SEMA)
• Practical IT work
– Maintenance, technical details, …
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

12. Common Problems
• Border responsibilities
• Lack of good tools and methods
• Lack of cooperation
• Lack of technical knowledge
• Fast evolution
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

13. Conclusions
• Better understanding of current situation
• Main problems identified:
– Cooperation
– Border responsibilities
• Most logical solution: through better
cooperation
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

14. Future work : Maturity Model
IDEM3 (IT Dependability in Emergency Management
Maturity Model)
• Based on case study
• Focus on cooperation needed to include information
about the dependability of IT systems in emergency
management and vice versa
• Adapted based on feedback from experts and
practitioners
• Currently being evaluated in practical setting
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

15. Maturity Model (2)
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

16. Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009

17. Questions?
Lund University / LTH / Department of Computer Science / ISCRAM 2009 / 13-5-2009