Results from the First Test Event of DecisionLab

Just an update on DecisionLab. Well! we ran the course at the College of Policing last week and it was great. The course was the MAGIC course with representatives from Police, Fire, Health, Local Authorities, Utilities, Government and the Military.

The approach is to replicate a multi room Hydra exercise in the same room, with the participants sitting round tables representing the syndicate rooms, all wearing headsets, all connected to the DecisionLab system.

I can report that this mountain has been climbed. The event was very well run by the College of Policing team and the students, through DecisionLab, were deeply immersed into a Hydra major incident strategic management. The data was captured effectively from the system and I have already started to pass it through my AIQA analysis tools.

Lots to do, now I have some real data but here is a sniff of the achievable (this is a first pass to test of some of the analysis approaches I am developing . The table discussions analysed against decision logs generated some very insightful data. I am looking at a number of components:

1. Participants and Roles
2. Key Themes and Concerns
3. Group Dynamics
 4. Emotional Tone
5. Decision-Making Process
6. Gaps and Uncertainties             

Snippet of findings, so far, lots to do here!

Decision Making Process - AIQA response - Snippet

The incident's evolving nature, including unconfirmed casualty numbers and uncertain structural safety, causes anxiety and caution. The Commander shows some hesitancy when discussing the risk assessment and is cautious in committing to strategic language.

This is evidenced by moments where the Commander questions the wording of strategic aims, indicating doubt or lack of confidence in certain decisions.

Comparison with the written logs:

The decision logs do not reflect this sense of doubt or apprehension. The tone in the logs is entirely procedural, presenting decisions as if they were made with full confidence and clarity.

There is little of the emotional tension that occurs when making decisions in uncertain and rapidly changing situations.

Next Steps

I have proved the concept works, now I have the captured data from all the tables, the strategic meetings, the decision logs and the press conference. My focus here is now building the analysis tools, the capture mountain has been climbed!