SAMBRO GUI Design

Common Operating Picture

Examples

Alerts

• ​Archived Alberta Emergency Alert
• ​Google Public Alerts
• ​Public Alerts - nice icons here too and also the categorical graphic filter options
• ​Pacific Disaster Center - Symbols are nicely integrated
• ​Copernicus Emergency Management Services - table is the only interesting part

Feeds

• ​Timore-Leste DRMIS Nortisia
• ​PAGASA Public Alerts
• ​List of Federation of Internet Alerts (FIA Feeds)
• ​NY-Alert List of Feeds

Alerting Sequence

The sequence of entering data and completing the process authoring an alert for approval or directly issuing require several steps. These steps can also depend on the predefined alert templates. For example, an alert template that is defined to accommodate multiple languages would require the additional steps of completing the extra info segments. Therefore, the GUI designers should use the knowledge from the CAP message template to define the sequence indicator shown in the image above. Here are the general steps

1. Click create alert button, which would present the user with the Alert block to change or enter any alert qualifier information and then save the form
2. Once the Alert block is saved the process should navigate to the Information block. The information block may contain more than one segment, i.e. one for each language. After saving the first Info block for the first language the sequence indicator will show that to be competed. And when the next Info block is saved the next green light will come on, so on and so forth

Alert Segment

identifier

• Typical format is "prefix" + "dateTime" + "timezone" + "msg-sequence-no" + "postfix"

Example - 2.49.0.1.524.2-20150525T12:23:00+8:00-005-scdmc. The prefix = "2.49.0.1.524.2-", postfix="-scdmc", and sequence="005" (we may issue more than one alert in one day; hence would require multiple message sequence numbers).

• One recommendation for the postfix is to use the ​WMO Recommended Alert Object Identifiers that helps identifies the alerting authority. However, it is not mandatory and the implementers are free to introduce another.

msgType

This is essentially a state machine, whereby an alert message can transition from msgType to another. The possible sequences are illustrated in the diagram and then described in the table below.

State transition diagram

Code Values:

Alert - Initial information requiring attention by targeted recipients
Update - Updates and supercedes the earlier message(s) identified in <references>
Cancel - Cancels the earlier message(s) identified in <references>
Ack - Acknowledges receipt and acceptance of the message(s) identified in <references>
Error - Indicates rejection of the message(s) identified in <references>; explanation SHOULD appear in <note>

'Cancel' and 'All clear' acts like a sink. They are where every msgType would ultimately go.

Transition combinations

No:	Transition	Remarks
1)	Alert ---> Update ... Update ---> Cancel	Cancel means the event was disregarded and it was a false alarm example - heavy rains cause a rain gauge to automatically trigger flash-flood alert, then the alert is incidentally updated by mistake, until finally the authorities realize it was a malfunction and issue a cancelled
2)	Alert ---> Cancel	is the same as 1) above but excluding any intermediary update alert messages
3)	Alert ---> Update ... Update ---> All Clear	All Clear is not in the CAP 1.2 but will be in 2.0; this means the event is over; it's different from "Cancel" example - a tsunamigenic earth, off the coast of Indonesia, triggers an alert, which is updated several times every 5 minutes, then finally when their is nor threat, an All Clear message is issued to inform that the threat is over
4)	Alert ---> All Clear	Error means the previous message had false values, thus, the msg with errors should be followed by an error-less message example - similar to example in 3) above, instead the the message "priority" was mistakenly set to "urgent" during an update, then a follow up message is issued to correct the "priority" to "high", in which case the msgType is set to "Error". Thereafter, the transitions can be as any of the above terminating with an "All Clear" message
5)	Alert ---> Update ... Update ---> Error ---> Update ... Update ---> All Clear	Error means the previous message had false values, thus, the msg with errors should be followed by an error-less message example - similar to example in 3) above, instead the the message "priority" was mistakenly set to "urgent" during an update, then a follow up message is issued to correct the "priority" to "high", in which case the msgType is set to "Error". Thereafter, the transitions can be as any of the above terminating with an "All Clear" message
6)	Alert ---> Error ---> All Clear	same as 5) above but excluding any of the updates
7)	Alert ---> Update ... Update ---> Error ---> Update ... Update ---> Cancel	is similar to 5) above instead, the message was false and a mistaken. Hence, instead of ending it with an "All Clear" we "Cancel" the message.
8)	Alert ---> Error ---> Cancel	same as 7) above but excluding any of the updates

"Ack" - Acknowledgement may not apply when we are publishing. Ack is used when a system or person receives an alert message and wants to acknowledge the receipt of that message. They would typically set the to Ack and return the message to the sender. This is a feedback for the issuing system to account for that the message was actually received by the intended recipient.

example, we may issue SMS alerts to [n] people and expect them to Ack. If and Ack is not received then we may recast the message to those who did not receive the message. Don't worry about this part, it's a project of it's own.

scope

We need to build in the logic for each of the values: Public, Private, and Restricted.

Value	Implication
Public	---> text-box control "Restriction" and "Recipients" are disabled
Restricted	---> text-box control "Restriction" = enabled and text-box control "Recipients" = disabled
Private	---> text-box control "Restriction" = disabled and text-box control "Recipients" = enabled

reference

if "Reference" is empty (NULL), then "Reference" = "Identifier" values (which is mandatory) if "Reference" is NOT empty (NOT NULL), then leave as it, possibly populated from the template

incident

• We should relate to the same incidents list in the IRS module. Example: a mass movement that causes an accident, then incidents would be ="rock slide", "train derailment".
• "rock slide" and "train derailment" may be archetypes of "mass movement" and "accident" respectively.

Info Segment

The basic needs for multiple info segments

Language

1) Multiple languages - an info segment for each language defined in the profile

Priority

Headline

Parameter

It is a system-specific additional parameter associated with the alert message.Example of the structure

<parameter>
     <name>earthquake-magnitude</name>
     <value>7.8</value>
</parameter>

Other

2) Multiple msgType - when the msgType is changed to send an Update, Cancel, Error, or All Clear, the an additional info segment for each language must be added to that particular event specific message

Example: The Met depart may detect a cyclone developing in the Bay of Bengal. The Tamil Nadu DMC would issue an alert in English, French, Hindi, and Tamil, that's 4 segments. Then every six hours they would issue an update of the same alert but with the new position, wind-speed, trajectory, etc. These updates would need to be issued in the 4 languages. Assuming there are 5 updates before it hits land, then that particular message would have 20 segments

Home Pages

Public Home Page

This page is essentially the HOME visible to the public; it will display public alerts only; where cap:alert:scope = "public". All other alerts are only available to those authorized with a login

Public Alert Page

Public alert page is descriptive page that is accessed by selecting an alert listed in the home page of the navigation controls

example: ​https://google.org/publicalerts/alert?aid=34355056e33cf59b&source=pa-iw&hl=zh&gl=TW

CUG Home Page

Closed User Group (CUG) home page is for authorized users who are either publishers or subscribers

Closed User Group (CUG) home page is for authorized users who are either publishers or subscribers

Descriptive Full Message

When a user clicks on a alert summary, listed in the home page or common operating picture, they would navigate to a page to view the complete description as shown in the image below.

Social Media

Facebook

Twitter

SOP Check Lists

The event type specific SOP check list are presented through the <cap:resource>.

Aggregator

The SAMBRO aggregator serves as a alert hub that pulls in feeds from various sources and then presents them through a single RSS Feed. Initially it will serve as an aggregator for the:

• ​IFRC Mobile Apps
• ​GeoThings Mobile Apps

Example list of incoming feeds