Designing Well-Accepted IT Solutions for Emergency Response: Methods and Approaches

Abstract

This chapter introduces system designers, usability engineers, interaction designers, system analysts, architects, requirements engineers, and project managers to a variety of methods that highly increase both the quality of IT solutions for emergency response and their acceptance among emergency responders. The methods are applicable for solutions at any level of the emergency response hierarchy and for any kind of disaster, but their relevance is highest when the intended solution addresses response frontlines and chaotic, abrupt extreme events such as earthquakes, floods, large-scale accidents, terror attacks, and fires.