1 Emergency Response Management Systems (ERMS)versus(ERSM) Emergency Response Systems Management: Identifying the Critical Path to Improved Decision Support Lessons from Standards Development: Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) Family of Specifications Interim Conclusion: Ontology of Specification Processes Needed

2 View from the SDO Trenches u OASIS: Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards u Emergency Management Technical Committee (EM TC) l Started 2003, with Submission of Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)from the Partnership for Public Warning, Begun after 9/11 l Minor Incompatibility Between CAP & Department of Justice (DoJ) Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) Stimulated Practitioner Group (Subject Matter Experts-SME) l DoJ, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Practitioner Group Evolved into Memorandum of Understand (MOU) Between DHS and Emergency Interoperability Consortium (EIC)

3 View from the SDO Trenches u Emergency Data Exchange Language Grew out of MOU Pratitioner Group l SMEs Thought to Provide Shortest Path to Quick, Workable Standard for Routing Emergency Messages l EDXL Distribution Element (EDXL_DE) Submitted to EM TC after CAP voted OASIS Standard, March 2004 l Complete Standard Submitted to EM TC Following CAP Process l Many Fundamental Changes Required, Many Reasons: n OASIS International not US-Centric n Setting Priority of Specification Components: Metadata, Specific Content Types, Payload versus Routing Information n Became Standard April 2005

4 View from the SDO Trenches u Many Lessons Learned from EDXL_DE Process l Difficult to Maintain Synch Among Normative Data Dictionary, Informational Document Object Model (DOM) & Normative XML Schema While Working Issues l No Ability to Check Reworked Specification Against Requirements u TC asked SMEs to Resubmit EDXL Resource Messaging (EDXL_RM) Specification as Formal Requirements Document l Messaging & Notifications Subcommittee (SC) Provided a Requirements Document Template l Allows Working SC to Check and Recheck ALL changes to Ensure that Requirements are met u EDXL Situational Awareness in Early Stages u As Family, EDXL Needs Overall Higher Level Model, Between Reference Model (RM) & DOM

5 EDXL Reference Information Model (EDXL_RIM) with OWL-DL Representation? u EDXL Experience Points to Advantage of Model Driven Architecture Approach l Built-In Inheritance Needed Without Making it an Issue l Will Make Interoperability Easier as Fact, More Acceptable as Requirement u Standards World Still not Fully XML-aligned u Road to RDF-OWL Acceptance Uncertain u Reference Information Model (RIM) needs to be more Abstract than DOM, Less Abstract than RM u OASIS SOA-RM is RM Example, DoJ Reference Architecture Based on SOA-RM is closer to RIM, Lacks Ontology Representation

6 ERMS v. ERSM: Critical Path System CharacteristicsEmergency Response MANAGEMENT Systems Emergency Response SYSTEMS Management FocusInternal to Local Jurisdiction External to Local Jurisdictions Incident ResponsibilityLocal Aspects of Incident Only All Aspects of Incident Command StructureLocal CoordinationInterJurisdictional Coordination Use of StandardsHaphazard, Seldom Mandated by Policy, Varies with Jurisdiction Use of Standards Encouraged or Mandated by Policy, NIMS, NIEM, DRM, CAP, EDXL_DE LogisticsHaphazard, May or May not have Updated Local Data on Availability of Emergency Healthcare, Regional Mutual Aid, etc. Mandated to Maintain Updated Data on Critical Infrastructure, Availability of Regional Emergency Healthcare, Mutual Aid, etc. Duration of ServicesUsually Constrained to Length of Major Incident Effects, e.g. Until Flood Waters Drain from Area Capable of Relatively Indefinite Duration, Including Remediation Services, e.g. Rebuilding Breached Levees.

7 ERMS v. ERSM: Critical Path u Emergency Response Management Systems l Single System-Centered l Coordinates Only when Required & Not Well l Ad Hoc with Jurisdictional Conflict & Confusion u Emergency Response Systems Management l Evolving Slowly, by Region, e.g. Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) l Mandated by DHS National Incident Management System (NIMS), National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) Data Reference Model Across Agencies u Critical Path: Any Step Without Which Goal or Objective Can Not be Achieved: l Improved Decision Support Imperative to Accurately Identify Critical Path Fail Points