Design for Improvisation in Computer-based Emergency Response Systems

This paper explores the design of training environments in which emergency response professionals can use information technologies to train for responding to unplanned-for situations. This approach—designing for improvisation—is fundamentally different than designing for plan execution. In this paper, we identify three dimensions of this difference and outline a set of research questions that are intended to lead to a better understanding of the role of improvisation in emergency response, as well as how it can be trained for and supported. Both questions are intertwined, since without a firm understanding of how improvisation occurs it is difficult to train for and support it.