Emergency Operations Center (EOC) software is a vital tool for coordinating and managing emergency response and recovery activities. But how do you know if your EOC software is effective and meets your needs? Here are some tips to help you measure the performance and value of your EOC software.
Before you can evaluate your EOC software, you need to define your objectives and expectations. What are the main functions and features that you need from your EOC software? How do you want to use it to support your emergency operations plan, incident action plan, and situational awareness? How do you measure the outcomes and impacts of your EOC software on your emergency management goals?
Situational Awareness and Common Operating Picture platforms are not one size fits all. You must have wide variety of tools to be able to accommodate an All Hazards Approach.
The software must support and enhance the ability to meet the Objectives while not placing additional work on the staff of the EOC to populate and use the software. Scalability and flexibility would be key to ensure effective use within an All Hazards incident.
Once you have your objectives, you need to choose metrics and indicators to measure your EOC software. Metrics are quantitative or qualitative measures that show how well it performs in terms of functionality, usability, reliability, security, and scalability. Indicators are data points that demonstrate the results and benefits of your EOC software in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, satisfaction, and improvement. For example, functionality metrics could include number of features, compatibility, integration, customization, automation; usability metrics could include ease of use, user interface, user feedback, training, support; reliability metrics could include availability, uptime/downtime, backup/recovery; security metrics could include encryption, authentication/authorization/audit/compliance; scalability metrics could include capacity/performance/load/demand; efficiency metrics could include time/cost/resources; effectiveness metrics could include accuracy/completeness/quality; satisfaction metrics could include user satisfaction/stakeholder satisfaction/customer satisfaction; improvement metrics could include innovation/learning/adaptation.
I have found that when staffing an EOC when you can utilize pre-established IMTs requires instructing software use or refreshing the skillset during the initial phase of an incident response. So the measurement of the time required to refresh skills is an important factor. The second factor would the ability to provide agency specific reports for incident response deliverables into the policy group above the EOC which incororporate the agency's normal operating metrics.
The next step is to collect your data from your EOC software and other sources. You can use various methods and tools to gather your data, such as surveys, interviews, observations, tests, logs, reports, analytics, etc. You should collect your data regularly and consistently to monitor and track your EOC software performance and value. You should also ensure that your data is accurate, valid, reliable, and relevant to your objectives and metrics.
After you have collected your data, you need to analyze it to understand and interpret your EOC software performance and value. You can use various techniques and tools to analyze your data, such as descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, trend analysis, gap analysis, root cause analysis, etc. You should compare your data to your objectives and expectations, as well as to benchmarks and best practices. You should also identify the strengths and weaknesses of your EOC software, as well as the opportunities and threats for improvement.
The final step is to report your findings and recommendations to your stakeholders and users. You should communicate your EOC software performance and value clearly and concisely, using charts, graphs, tables, dashboards, etc. You should highlight the achievements and challenges of your EOC software, as well as the lessons learned and the actions needed. You should also solicit feedback and suggestions from your stakeholders and users to improve your EOC software and your evaluation process.
The value and success of any EOC software starts with understanding information flow and data and information requirements per your plans. Software will not solve problems, and may even make new ones, if you do not know how you gather, analyze, use and distribute information. When you really look at your plans, use them to draw an information flow chart showing data sources, how and in what format this is collected (voice, text, image, file), how it is analyzed and turned into information and by whom, what it will be used for and by whom, and how and in what format it should be disseminated to users. If you cannot do this, start by updating your plans before buying anything to save yourself frustration.
Also consider the importance of how quantitative information will be displayed when designing emergency operations center (EOC) software. Different display options such as numeric displays, bar charts/analogue dials, pictorial displays, and trend displays have their advantages and limitations. The design of EOC software should prioritise accuracy, ease of use, and simplicity, and consider the context in which the software will be used. Ultimately, the goal is to provide the end-user with the information they need to make informed decisions quickly and accurately.