Smart Simulation for Decision Support at Headquarters

While serious games are being widely adopted by NATO and partner nations, their use is currently limited to training and operations planning. In this paper, we explore new methods that use simulations for decision support during the execution of military operations. During this phase, the commander makes decisions based on knowledge of the situation and the primary objectives. We propose here to take a simulation containing smart and autonomous units, and use it to create new kinds of decision support tools capable of improving situation awareness, and consequently the quality of decisions. The breakthrough behind this initiative is the realization that we can provide HQ decision makers with access to a version of the information that smart simulated units use to make decisions. To ensure the approach was sound we first studied decision-making processes, and analyzed how situation awareness improves decision making. After analysis of the decision-making processes at various headquarters, and the types of decision criteria employed, we are able to produce innovative information, computed by the simulation, and fed by the command and control system. We then propose a prerequisite architecture, and describe the first results of our proof of concept work based on the SWORD (Simulation Wargaming for Operational Research and Doctrine) simulation. Based on the current situation (intelligence, operational state, logistics, etc.) and the current maneuver (current task), examples of what we are now capable of are as follows:  provide an immediate local force ratio map, produce a capacities map (detection, combat), compute contextual fire or logistic support time required, automatically generate lines of battle such as the Forward Line of Own Troops (FLOT), Limit Of Advance (LOA), Line of Contact (LC), Forward Edge of Battle Area (FEBA), or propose an effect based maneuver map in order to understand the current effect of the forces on the ground. We then propose a prerequisite architecture for use as a decision-support system at HQ, and describe the next smart layers that we believe should be developed for optimal results

Designing a Decision-Making System for Providing Mutual Aid During Disasters

Routine organizational decision-making is a complex process, but organizations have procedures in place to support decision-making for routine situations. However, when an organization faces a crisis, the standard processes in place may not be enough to react appropriately to the crisis. Sometimes, due to the scale of the crisis and the resources needed, organizations may need to collaborate with other organizations to ensure success. This thesis addresses the design of such a mutual aid system as a type of a decision-making system. Our approach is based on the Operational Procedure Model used in avionics for specifying the dynamic behavior of operationally embedded reactive software-based systems. Using this approach, we designed and tested a mutual aid system to be used by five hospitals in Montgomery County, Maryland. Based on this experience, we propose a revised methodology for designing crisis decision-making systems

Intelligent decision support systems for collaboration in industrial plants

Dissertação apresentada para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Sistemas de Informação Industriais, Engenharia Electrotécnica, pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaThe objective of this thesis is to contribute for a structured and systematic decision-making process for industrial companies, particularly involving several actors, helping them make the best use of their resources. The paradigms of how industrial companies operate have been progressively changing over the last two decades. The flexible and dynamic flow of information and persons over companies has created new challenges and opportunities for industry. It is not possible to dissociate an enterprise from its human resources and the knowledge they create and use. Companies face decisions constantly, involving several actors and situations. With the market pressure and rapid changing environments, decisions are becoming more complex, and involving more people with complementary expertise. The knowledge processes are only efficient if the actors can anchor and relate the information handled to the extended enterprise. Therefore, an enterprise model is a fundamental aspect to support decision-making in industry. This work includes an overview of existing modelling methodologies and standards. Afterwards, it proposes an enterprise model to represent an extended or virtual enterprise, suitable not only for decision-making applications but also for others. This thesis considers methods and systems to support decision and analyses decision types and processes. Afterwards, the thesis presents some considerations on decision-making in industry and a generic decision-making process, including, a review of decision criteria commonly used in industry. Two of the methods widely used in some of the mentioned areas, case-based reasoning and the analytic hierarchy process, have been used in the scope of problem solving and decision-making, respectively. This thesis presents an approach based on a combination of case-based reasoning and analytic hierarchy process to support innovation, particularly product design in industry. The combination overcomes shortcomings of both methods to provide the most adequate decision support for multi-disciplinary teams in innovation processes. Moreover, the work presented proposes an algorithm for automatic adjustment of the weight of the actors in the decision process. This thesis includes case studies, developed in the scope of several research projects, used as practical applications of the work developed. These practical applications include seven test cases (with two manufacturing companies, two assembling companies, two engineering services companies and one software company) where the proposed enterprise model and methods have been applied with the purpose of supporting decisions. This highlights the wide application of the proposed model, describing its possible interpretations and the successful use of the decision support approach in industrial companies.Projects PICK (IST-1999-10442), AIM (IST-2001-52222), FOKSai (COOP-CT-2003-508637), InLife (FP6-2005-NMP2-CT-517018), InAmI (FP6-2004-IST-NMP-2-16788) and K-NET (FP7-ICT-1-215584), all of which were partially funded by the Research Framework Programs of the European Unio

Valoriser les connaissances issues des expériences vécues pour recommander des actions de protection des sources d'eau potable : application du raisonnement à base de cas

Depuis des décennies, les pays du monde entier s'affairent à préserver leurs précieuses ressources en eau potable. Ils cherchent à anticiper les risques et à réduire les impacts anthropiques qui pourraient altérer les sources d'approvisionnement. Au Canada, la protection des sources d'eau potable (PSEP) est mise en œuvre au sein de l'approche à barrières multiples, dont elle est l'une des barrières fondamentales. Cette approche permet une gestion multidimensionnelle de l'eau à l'aide d'outils et des pratiques visant à assurer la qualité de l'eau de la source au robinet. Bien que différents cadres existent pour prendre en compte l'eau dans l'aménagement du territoire, la mise en œuvre de la protection des sources peine à se concrétiser. Pourtant, les acteurs de l'eau et de l'aménagement du territoire ont une grande expérience dans la mise en œuvre d'actions. Alors, comment partager ces expériences afin de les soutenir dans l'identification et la mise en œuvre de futures actions de protection des sources ? Le but de cette thèse est de développer un prototype de système d'aide à la décision à base de connaissances (KB-DSS). Celui-ci a pour objectif de faciliter l'identification d'actions ciblées de PSEP selon les problèmes rencontrés. Pour ce faire, ce prototype a été développé sur la base des connaissances issues des expériences vécues depuis deux décennies au Québec, mettant à contribution des expériences réelles de mise en œuvre d'actions liées à la protection de l'eau. Il est conçu pour être utilisable par tout acteur ayant un intérêt à agir pour protéger les sources d'eau potable à l'échelle locale et régionale, via un transfert de connaissances dans le processus d'élaboration et de mise en œuvre d'actions. En étant un support dans la définition des actions futures, le prototype développé entend encourager les parties prenantes à apprendre les unes des autres. L'originalité de la thèse repose sur l'adoption combinée de l'approche en science du design/de la conception (DSR), qui a servi de lignes directrices pour adopter une démarche collaborative et transparente. Celle-ci a permis une application réussie du raisonnement à base de cas (CBR) au complexe problème de la PSEP dans un cadre de gestion de l'eau et du territoire. De cette démarche sont nés différents outils méthodologiques, procédures et connaissances permettant de mieux comprendre les problèmes liés à la PSEP, mais également d'illustrer la conception intégrale d'un prototype d'aide à la décision à base de connaissances utilisant le CBR. Tout d'abord, le cadre conceptuel (chapitre 1) explore et tente de comprendre les liens qui existent entre la nature des problèmes à résoudre pour protéger l'eau, l'environnement décisionnel et la prise de décision. Pour ce faire, le cadre adopte une approche systémique et holistique superposant différentes théories et concepts tels que la gouvernance de l'eau, la gestion de l'eau, la prise de décision, la rationalité et la connaissance. Cette compréhension des défis sous-jacents à la mise en œuvre de la PSEP permettait de mieux comprendre la complexité du problème à résoudre et posait les bases à l'élaboration du prototype de système CBR proposé. Dans l'optique de mieux comprendre comment les défis soulevés dans le cadre conceptuel se concrétisent en pratique, le second chapitre présente une enquête en ligne documentant la mise en œuvre de la PSEP au Québec. Celle-ci visait à brosser un portrait-diagnostic permettant de mieux comprendre le processus décisionnel, d'identifier qui sont les intervenants et quelles sont les connaissances produites et mobilisées pour la prise de décision sur la PSEP. Les analyses qualitatives et quantitatives des réponses des 208 intervenants retenus ont permis de constater que la mise en œuvre de la PSEP impliquait une grande diversité d'intervenants, de tâches et de connaissances créées et se caractérisait par un fort dynamisme inter-organisationnel. Cependant, on constatait que son processus décisionnel perdait en inclusivité au fil des étapes de mise en œuvre, que les connaissances étaient parfois redondantes et qu'il existait de nombreux enjeux de transfert de connaissances (accès, quantité ou qualité des connaissances) entre les intervenants. Lors de l'enquête en ligne présentée au second chapitre, il a été demandé à certains acteurs (organismes de bassins versants, villes, municipalités régionales de comté) d'illustrer les problèmes liés à la PSEP rencontrés sur le terrain. En parallèle, 102 intervenants se sont auto-recrutés pour participer au processus de design du système d'aide à la décision. Le troisième chapitre présente la démarche d'acquisition et de structuration des connaissances du dit KB-DSS par une approche CBR. Le chapitre décrit une seconde enquête en ligne ayant permis de définir ce qu'est un cas pour la PSEP, soit une expérience vécue qui consiste en une multitude de problèmes et de solutions mises en œuvre. Puis, il décrit la modélisation d'une taxonomie des connaissances ayant permis d'aboutir à des descriptions structurées des cas. La conception des cas repose sur le savoir-faire et les besoins en connaissances exprimés par les acteurs de l'eau. La base de cas constitue l'épine dorsale du prototype de KB-DSS destiné à guider les décideurs dans l'élaboration de solutions fondées sur des expériences passées. Le quatrième chapitre présente le prototype de KB-DSS/CBR pour la protection des sources d'eau potable. Il retrace comment le CBR a été modélisé, structuré, implanté, testé et validé en collaboration avec les 102 acteurs de la gestion et de la gouvernance de l'eau au Québec. Il décrit l'intégralité du processus manuel d'ingénierie de cas pour concevoir des attributs qualitatifs sur la base de la taxonomie des connaissances. Il présente l'édition des cas, le processus et les métriques permettant de retrouver des cas, l'implantation et un exemple d'utilisation ainsi que la validation du prototype, réalisée par une procédure participative rigoureuse et transparente avec un petit groupe d'acteurs de l'eau du Québec. Ainsi, il fournit des preuves empiriques du potentiel positif d'une approche CBR pour la PSEP sur le territoire, et retrace une démarche qui peut être généralisée à d'autres contextes géographiques et socio-économiques similaires.Countries worldwide have been working for decades to preserve their precious drinking water resources. They seek to anticipate risks or reduce anthropogenic impacts that could alter the water quality and availability. In Canada, drinking water source protection (DSWP), or source water protection (SWP), is implemented as part of the multi-barrier approach and is one of the fundamental barriers. This approach allows for multidimensional water management using tools and practices to ensure water quality from source to tap. Although various frameworks exist to consider water in spatial planning, the implementation of DWSP is struggling to materialize. However, water and spatial planning actors have significant experience implementing actions. So, how can these experiences be shared to support them in identifying and implementing future DWSP actions? The goal of this thesis is to develop a prototype of a knowledge-based decision support system (KB-DSS). The objective of this prototype is to facilitate the identification of targeted actions for water protection according to the problems encountered. To do so, this prototype was developed based on knowledge gained from past experiences conducted over the last two decades in Quebec, using real experiences in implementing actions related to water protection. It is designed to be used by any actor with an interest in contributing for the protection of drinking water sources at the local and regional levels, through the transfer of knowledge in the process of developing and implementing actions. By being a support in the definition of future actions, the developed prototype intends to encourage the actors to learn from each other. The originality of the thesis lies in the combined adoption of the design science approach (DSR), which served as a guideline to adopt a collaborative and transparent approach. This allowed for a successful application of case-based reasoning (CBR) to the complex problem of DWSP in a water and territory management framework. From this approach, various methodological tools, procedures and knowledge were developed to better understand the DWSP problems, but also to illustrate the complete design of a prototype knowledge-based decision support system using CBR. First, the conceptual framework (chapter 1) explores and attempts to understand the links between the nature of the problems to be solved to protect water, the decision-making environment, and the decision-making process. These issues were explored by adopting a system analysis that allowed for layering concepts such as water governance, water management, decision-making, rationality, and knowledge. This holistic understanding of the underlying challenges of DWSP implementation provided a better understanding of the complexity of the problem at hand and laid the foundation for developing the proposed CBR system. To better understand how the challenges raised in the conceptual framework materialize in practice, the second chapter presents an online survey documenting the implementation of DWSP in Quebec. This survey aimed to provide a diagnostic portrait to understand the decision-making process better and identify the actors and the knowledge produced and mobilized for DWSP decision-making. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the responses from the 208 selected actors revealed that the implementation of DWSP involved a wide variety of actors, tasks and knowledge created and was characterized by great inter-organizational dynamism. However, it was found that the decision-making process becomes less inclusive as actions are implemented. Also, the knowledge was sometimes redundant, and there were many problems with the knowledge transfer (access, quantity, or knowledge quality) between actors. During the online survey presented in the second chapter, selected actors (watershed organizations, municipalities, counties, etc.) were asked to illustrate DWSP-related problems encountered in the field. In parallel, 102 actors were self-recruited to participate in the design process of the KB-DSS. The third chapter presents the acquisition and structuring of DWSP problem-related knowledge. The chapter describes a second online survey that helped define a DWSP case, i.e., a lived experience consisting of a multitude of problems and solutions implemented at various scales by various actors. It then describes the modelling of a knowledge taxonomy that led to structured case descriptions. The design of the cases is based on the expertise and knowledge needs expressed by the water actors. The case base is the backbone of the KB-DSS prototype to guide decision-makers in developing solutions based on past experiences. The fourth chapter presents the prototype KB-DSS/CBR system for DWSP. It traces how CBR was modelled, structured, implemented, tested and validated in collaboration with 102 water management and governance actors in Quebec. It describes the entire manual case engineering process for the design of qualitative attributes from the knowledge taxonomy. It presents the case base, the case edition, and the case retrieval (process and metrics). This chapter also illustrates the implementation using a real-world experience use case, as well as the validation of the prototype, carried out through a transparent, participatory procedure with a small group of water actors in Quebec. Thus, it provides empirical evidence of the high potential of a CBR approach for DWSP in the spatial planning context and describes an approach that can be generalized to other similar geographical and socio-economic contexts

Multikonferenz Wirtschaftsinformatik (MKWI) 2016: Technische Universität Ilmenau, 09. - 11. März 2016; Band I

Übersicht der Teilkonferenzen Band I: • 11. Konferenz Mobilität und Digitalisierung (MMS 2016) • Automated Process und Service Management • Business Intelligence, Analytics und Big Data • Computational Mobility, Transportation and Logistics • CSCW & Social Computing • Cyber-Physische Systeme und digitale Wertschöpfungsnetzwerke • Digitalisierung und Privacy • e-Commerce und e-Business • E-Government – Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien im öffentlichen Sektor • E-Learning und Lern-Service-Engineering – Entwicklung, Einsatz und Evaluation technikgestützter Lehr-/Lernprozess