Decision support systems

The issues related to successful development and integration of decision support systems (DSS) into emergency management processes are discussed. They provide summaries of data, forecast future developments in the context of present circumstances, take account of uncertainties, help the decision makers explore their own perceptions and values. All information systems must be tailored to purpose and context and embedded into the prevailing culture for providing the intended support. Artificial intelligence approaches, such as neural nets, case-based reasoning, and expert systems, which need to assimilate training sets based upon past similar events, may help in identifying evacuation routes and allocating transportation resources. DSS tools must be a decision transaction system that knows explicitly the roles being performed and roles responsible for reacting to the events taking place. In addition, they should be built upon flexible templates to ensure the specific character of any event can be met appropriately.