The workshop consisted of collaborative exploration and experimentation with the concept and reference implementations for the semantic framework and knowledge base. It brought together representatives from all partners in SecInCoRe and two representatives from the Lancashire Local Resilience Forum with whom we’ve had long-term interactions. The workshop covered:
- the overall project concept
- details about the search, semantic framework, and knowledge base
- time to explore the reference implementations of these aspects
- discussions around how different forms of transparency could support the design and use of these aspects of the project
- and a debate about structuring the knowledge base as a library or a catalogue.
Overall, the discussions brought together the various perspectives of those involved in ways that lead to new insights about the potential of SecInCoRe. By the end of the workshop, most, if not all, involved found themselves thinking differently about an aspect of the design than before the workshop. Part of this was because of the ability to have something concrete and hands-on to interact around. Part of this was because the workshop was not set up to be designers versus users, but mixed everyone together.
While we all agreed that the reference implementation of the search still needs work to act as a marketing tool, it provided a fantastic opportunity to explore how our concept pairs with design. Doing so helped the project partners in SecInCoRe focus their follow up discussion on how to better demonstrate the overall holistic concept as well as what to focus on within each reference implementation to best show the value and state of the art aspects of the concepts.
Key Points:
- While we are not focusing on interfaces, we need to think critically about how to demonstrate the complex state of the art underlying engineering and design that we are developing.
- The individual emergency responder “user” is not our audience. Rather, because of the level of design and concept, we are more focused on the strategic planners within organisation and institutions.
- A library and catalogue structure for the knowledge base have relatively equal problems and advantages technologically. However, they do offer different social opportunities, which need to be considered to a greater degree.
- Even if imperfect, having some meta-data produced in advance that can then be edited would likely create situations of greater equivalence in entries and more likely encourage user interventions to produce better meta-data overall than having a blank slate which the user is the only source of entry. With that said, having only computer-generated meta-data will not work either.
