Application of Social Network Analysis Methods to Quantitatively Assess Exercise Coordination

• Published in: Homeland security affairs Vol. 7; no. 1
• Main Author: Su, Yee San
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Monterey Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security 01-01-2011
• Subjects: Communication; Failure; Methods; NGOs; Nongovernmental organizations; Private sector; Social networks; Studies
• ISSN: 1558-643X

Previous failures in effective, large-scale disaster response (e.g., Hurricane Katrina) are often traced to failures in effective coordination. As evidenced in after-action reports, however, assessments of coordination performance are still largely anecdotal in nature. Network analysis is a possible means to develop quantitative metrics for coordination assessment. In this paper, two techniques are proposed for characterizing coordination performance. First, Borgatti's technique for quantifying network fragmentation was used to measure the extent to which various response agencies play a role in establishing efficient communications. Second, Girvan and Newman's technique for community sub-group identification was used to identify potential breakdowns in information transfer. Both techniques were successfully implemented in a case-study analysis of the Top Officials 4 exercise. The techniques can provide additional insights into coordination performance, identifying exercise artificialities and allowing meta-analysis of coordination performance (e.g., over time, across regions, for different event scales).