Decision support for improvisation in response to extreme events: Learning from the response to the 2001 World Trade Center attack

Extreme events such as natural or technological disasters challenge society’s capabilities for planning and response. While advanced technologies and modeling techniques continue to expand how society can limit and manage extreme events, flexibility and an ability to improvise remain crucial in responding to them. By analyzing a case from the response to the 2001 World Trade Center attack, this paper develops a set of requirements for computer-based systems intended to support improvisation in response to extreme events. The particular goal of this analysis is to identify methods for providing cognitive-level support for organizations in determining when and how to improvise.