Evaluating the Use of Mobile Devices in Critical Incidents Response: A Microworld Approach

In this work we approach the study of team situation awareness based upon a holistic perspective that integrates the shared and distributed nature of the construct. We studied team situation awareness in the context of critical incidents response management, as it constitutes a valuable asset and yet is continuously challenged by the very nature of the context. We applied a micro world approach as a compromise between controlled laboratory experiments and field studies. Relying on this approach, we studied the impact of mobile applications in the teams' performance and situation awareness, using a helpdesk as an application domain. The obtained results do not indicate a fundamental breakthrough regarding the usage of mobile applications in such contexts. Nevertheless, they provide valuable insights about the team dynamics, situation awareness and communication patterns.