The Designer
Because status information for users is highly dynamic, the Designer feature allows local administrators to quickly design and implement specific status boards without consulting a software developer or web page designer. The Designer also allows the structure and content of status boards to change to reflect the maturity of the concept of operations for emergency operations centers, agencies, and facilities as these entities prepare and validate response plans, conduct drills and exercises, and perform daily operations. The Designer provides this design and definition feature for a spreadsheet-like status board. It allows privileged users to update the design of a status board and to add new elements or update the existing layout—organization and context.
Each status board is a group of information about a particular subject. Table status boards consist of rows of similar information and list status boards are used for a unique set of items. The organization and context of this group of information is controlled by the design of the status board—what information will the status board contain and how will it be displayed. Using the Designer, the
- content and layout is designed
- accessibility is established. The
options include
- special privileges that are needed to view or edit status boards
- letting anyone view data
- letting anyone edit data
- level of sharing is set up. Choose
to
- share the design across hazards where the design can be applied to acquire hazard specific data
- share the design and data across hazards where all hazards contribute to a single data pool
- share hazard information across emergency operations centers allowing other emergency operations centers to apply the design, but they are not allowed to modify the design.
When the revised status board design is saved, the status board is updated while retaining previously acquired status information and notifying users about the new or updated information. When a user updates or redisplays a status board in the field, both the new design and the content are provided in real time. This means that during an emergency, a status board can be created or updated, and it is available in the field in just a few minutes. The Designer allows users to create or update and implement a status board in real time, which allows users to share meaningful, highly dynamic status information within minutes of identifying the status items to be shared.