Texas State Emergency Operations Center Matrix Project for Hurricane Preparedness
The Matrix application is software management solution providing oversight and work flow for monitoring tasks and assignments for hurricane preparedness and response for the State of Texas. It was a multi-staged operation which created software solutions which aided in the management and analysis for a number of hurricanes including the third-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States: Hurricane Ike
- Specification
SPECIFICATIONAfter considerable research and many development meetings with the Emergency Operations Center, we created a blueprint for the final application. This was printed out on a six foot wide sheet of paper and examined in detail by the team. Once the necessary edits were made, the development process for the application began.
- Task Analysis
TASK ANALYSISWe created an application which would allow each of the 140 organizations involved to track their tasks and plot contingencies. Each group created a set of tasks which could then be printed out and reviewed in both chart and table formats. This tool was portable to enable each group to work at their own pace. The resulting XML data files were then imported directly into the main Matrix application.
- Instantly Updateable App
INSTANTLY UPDATEABLE APPWe use a modified version of the Extreme Programming methodology. This Agile approach allows us to move very quickly in short development cycles with multiple reviews for each cycle. Based upon our existing MagicCarpet and extensive protocol libraries, we can deliver a robust, self-updating, portable application client architecture, which can reside on a computer or thumbdrive, in a very short period of time.
- MATRIX Dashboard
MATRIX DASHBOARDA unique dashboard was created for each organization which tracked the status of all tasks and tried to predict where problems would arise. The governor and head of the EOC had special dashboards which immediately alerted them to areas which needed attention. Across the top of the MATRIX application, you can see the Hurricane timeline. The app tracked all tasks and updates in real-time and reported on the progress.
- Task Management
TASK MANAGEMENTThe many organizations updated a central MATRIX server with their specific task progress. They were able to change the status and also reroute various tasks based upon planned contingencies.The entire application was designed to be able to run on a single thumbdrive, so that it could be quickly installed on any computer and accessed as long as one had an internet connection.
The Goal of the Matrix was to:
- To coordinate communication and improve efficiency between all levels of respondents in tracking, preparing for, and responding to impending hurricanes
- To automate scheduled task assignments and provide monitoring for the success of the assignments
- To help manage the time sensitive deployment of critical resources
- To provide a simple, graphical and easy to use executive overview of overall hurricane preparedness at all levels
- To be flexible in configuration and functionality per State Operations Center directive.
The Matrix provides the following functionality (non-inclusive):
- Tracks Hurricane schedule and status
- Tracks completion status of assigned tasks and scheduled events
- Provides task and schedule assignments for multiple users and groups
- Allows prioritization of specific tasks and scheduled events
- Provides different interface ‘views’ based upon user level
- Provides an Executive Overview Dashboard which allows for instant analysis of the current situation
- Is easy to use and simple to understand
- Has an authoring mode for creating tasks and scheduled events based on user groups and priorities
- Has a friendly and graphic-intensive interface with built-in documentation and help screens
- Records real and simulated scenarios for later review
- Interactive timeline tool for ‘look-head’ and ‘look-back’ scenario planning
- Automated backup and redundant data storage with the ability to resolve failures quickly
- Is a non-browser, multi-tiered, auto-updating and self-healing client-server application so the interface can be as robust and easy to use and controllable as possible
- Has the capability to access the server from any secured Internet connection via the client application (not a browser).
- Major functions of the client software can be made to run on any version of Windows 2000, XP or Vista, and Windows 7
- Is built with an extensible architecture to leverage existing resources and append future technologies, such as neural nets and genetic algorithms