Observation of Katrina/Rita Groove Deployment: Addressing Social and Communication Challenges of Ephemeral Groups

Observation of Katrina/Rita Groove Deployment: Addressing Social and Communication Challenges of Ephemeral Groups Shelly Farnham, Ph.D. ISCRAM 06

Agenda
Background
Context of Deployment
Observed Social and Communication Challenges
Groove
Overview
Observed usage and deployment challenges
Recommendations for next generation crisis management collaboration technologies

Background
Microsoft recently acquired Groove
Peer to peer collaboration technology: communication, file sharing, & coordination for groups
Forming new Humanitarian Systems Group
Learn about the use of collaborative technologies in the public sector
Based on Groove’s humanitarian systems team
As Researcher in Microsoft’s Social Computing Group, had opportunity to observe deployment of Groove in field following Katrina
What are communication/collaboration challenges in crisis situations?
What are deployment challenges in crisis situations?

Trip Overview
Activity Log
Mon 9/19
Arrive at Baton Rouge, drive through New Orleans
Cisco mobile communication unit at Pearlington Elementary School distribution center
Navy Post Graduate School mobile communication unit at Hancock Medical Center
Tue 9/20
Hancock County EOC
Joint forces military command & control: DJC2, JFMCC at Bell Chasse
Wed 9/21
DJC2, JFMCC
New Orleans EOC
Thu, Fri, Sat 9/22 – 9/24
Rita “Hunker down” at JFMCC
Sun, 9/25
FEMA’s “Katrina Interagency Support” base station at Stennis Space Center
World Shelters
Mon 9/26
World Shelters
Waveland beach
Tue 9/27
Hancock Medical Center
Mercy Corps
Wed 9/28
Hancock joint forces military communication center
Hancock Medical Center, mobile medical unit
Waveland distribution center
Thu 9/29 -- depart
Nine days, visiting various groups in New Orleans, Hancock County, Waveland Beach
In-depth discussions with members of Groove team
Assisted Groove deployment and training, with Robert Kirkpatrick
Informal conversations with relief workers
Direct observation

Context of Deployment
Economy at a stand still, largely evacuated
Few stores open, often shelves empty
Inspectors going through houses
People eating at distribution centers
Many neighborhoods still without electricity
“ Permissive” environment

Waveland Beach

Hunkering down for Rita with JFMCC

Social & Communication Challenges
Much of existing social and technical infrastructure erased, but immediate response required
5% problem of deploying technology, 95% problem of “change management”
Many organizations mobilize for relief effort (military, gov’t, NGO, ephemeral, local)
Demands coordination in the context of new, emerging organizational, social, leadership structures

Restoring Communication Infrastructure
Time to restore technical infrastructure:
cell towers – 5 days
electricity – 2 weeks
Internet ?
Cell phone primary form of communication
No cell phone directory
Unstable connections
Difficult to get through, high demand

Mobile Communication Units Cisco “ Cats and Dogs” on the Edge Set up WiFi at Pearlington Point of Distribution

Navy post graduate school presence At Hancock Medical Center Mobile Wi-fi Hotspot

Military Communication Center
DJC2
Research project, setting up command and control center in 48 hours

Setting up communication at World Shelters

Finding People and Resources
Web sites for listings of people and resources
Distribution Centers (POD, Point of Distribution)
Relief workers: dependency on face to face meeting
Emergency Operation Centers (EOC)
Tapping social network/social capitol

People finding Each Other

Developing Situational Awareness and Common Operational Perspective
Difficult to develop adequate awareness of situation
Identifying aid requirements
what organizations are present
figuring out gaps
People very mobile, high rotation of volunteers, information quickly out of date
Information sources: face to face at EOCs, personal cell phones, emails
Laptop with GPS in car GIS at EOCs

MercyCorps Mobile Field Office
No address
Moves
Use of personal cell phones (rely on word of mouth to get #)
Verizon card in one laptop
At EOC, literally knocking on RV door to find

Developing leadership and decision-making structures
Independent groups
No single point of authority
Differences in expectations about decision-making hierarchies
Cross-organizational distrust
Sharing potentially sensitive information
Coordinating to fill niches in aid affected by considerations of economic outcomes, status, competency
from military to ephemeral groups

Balancing Opportunities for Aid and Abuse
“ Permissive environment”, opportunities for abuse:
Looting, selling contaminated water, price gauging
Policing measures
Curfews, restricted access to neighborhoods, identification cards
Increased difficulty for ad hoc, ephemeral groups to provide aid

Groove
Group communication, file sharing, coordination, data synchronization
Secure, peer to peer collaboration
No centralized server, increases cross organizational trust
Enables sharing and synchronization across locations, while mobile, with intermittent Internet access
Moment to moment notifications of updated content
Ideal for ad hoc, cross organizational collaboration

Groove Work groups contacts discussion File sharing notifications of new content data synchronization meetings

Alerts

Observed Groove Usage
Communication across locations and across groups “Virtual EOC”
EOCs, POD, Mobile Communication Centers, Military bases, ships, hospitals
Data synchronization
Registration of evacuees across shelters
Moment to moment, time-pressured updated information
JFMCC “battle watch”
Patient tracking
Hancock mobile medical center, awareness of patient status from arrival to departure
Field to base situation reports
MercyCorps

Groove Deployment Challenges
Deployment:
For crisis situation, should optimize for rapid proliferation of application through both formal and informal social networks
Barriers to rapid deployment:
Training required for most effective use
Change of default settings, importing contacts, invitation to workspaces
Specialized knowledge required for use of forms
Distributed as single use application, should have “host” license: host role very important, sponsoring new relationships across organizations through workspaces

Deployment Challenges Cont’d
Downloading difficult
Need laptop/desktop
Both invitee and inviter must be online for confirmations, and for space to download
downloads entire workspace, takes too much time, should download just the past week
“Managed” identity and activation accounts
False impression need someone to help activate, inhibits people from inviting others
Cannot change identity information in some situations
Some organizations require IT buy-in for downloading and identity activation

Prototyping Recommendations
Groove “Light”
Optimize for rapid proliferation through network (formal & informal)
Optimize for mobility of contacts: associated with cell phone, across machines
Refine new user experience to minimize any training required, rely on host role for support
Mobile application
Ad hoc group communication
Peer to peer mobile
Universal, persistent identity systems for mobile relief workers and recipients
Unified store
Associated with personal cell phone, automatic publish for emergency situation
Identity controlled by individuals, not organizations
Integration with mobile: sending text message status reports (“I am alive!!”)
Location awareness
Reputation system for individuals and organizations providing aid

Future Directions
Enabling complex information sharing and trust development across organizations and across social hierarchies
How to best support both informal and formal communication channels across organizations
Role of social hierarchy inhibiting/enabling cross group collaboration
Role of personal relationships (trusted host) in developing across organizational collaboration

Observation of Katrina/Rita Groove Deployment: Addressing Social and Communication Challenges of Ephemeral Groups

by Shelly D. Farnham, Ph.D. on Mar 05, 2010

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Observation of Katrina/Rita Groove Deployment: Addressing Social and Communication Challenges of Ephemeral Groups — Presentation Transcript