Building online crisis management support using workflow systems

While workflow systems have typically been proposed for automating formal business procedures, this paper presents a novel application of workflow technology to coordinate and disseminate tasks and related information for crisis management support systems (CMSS). This is because an essential requirement for CMSS is that response times must allow the decision maker time to appropriately react to an unfolding situation, and where untimely delays could negate the usefulness of even the most sophisticated system. This paper discusses the potential benefits of using a workflow approach for CMSS, and describes the development of a suitable framework for an existing Swiss government CMSS. Results indicate that the ability of workflow technology to coordinate, monitor, organize and distribute specific tasks and the associated required information in a timely and efficient manner appears to make it an ideal tool for strategic crisis management. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.