Infostructure maturity model for disaster management in Malaysia / Aliza Abdul Latif

Disaster management is a topic that continues to grow in significance as countries and
organizations seek to minimise the impacts caused by it. Despite evidence of
organizations improving performance by following existing guidelines and procedures,
there is little theory that explains how information is assessed in disaster. The study
starts by reviewing the important resources during disasters that are information,
structure and technology. A tailored infostructure term was defined for these resources
and suitable indicators for infostructure were identified. With the introduction of
infostructure tailored exclusively for disaster management, there is a need for
organizations involved to assess the improvement of the infostructure usage. A
measurement tool is built in the form of maturity model to provide evaluation and
monitor the capability of the infostructure. The maturity model for the infostructure is
validated by applying the model through a simulation exercise of disaster activities of
an electricity company. This is mixed-method research, adopting sequential explanatory
design where the quantitative phases were conducted by obtaining agencies’ opinion
and experience using survey questionnaire. Next, qualitative phases were done by
interviewing select agencies to identify infostructure implementation during disasters.
An electricity company in Malaysia that deals with disasters was selected as a case
company to explore the usage of infostructure. The conceptual model of this research
was built from the concepts of maturity model and quantitative results. Content analysis
was adopted to analyse transcriptions on interview data, and results were integrated into
the final maturity model. Key findings from this research produced a five-level maturity
model named as infostructure maturity model (IMM) which include detailed description
of each level. The IMM shows how the infostructure usage influences organization’s
maturity level. This suggest that an organization may identify the progression paths or
improvement of the disaster processes of relevant organizations. This research is
therefore beneficial to all players in the disaster management field as they grapple with
trying to improve processes related to infostructure. The research believes that the IMM
is applicable and suits the existing disaster management practices and it enables a
company to assess maturity of its infostructure usage. This research also contributes to
the disaster management field by offering a better and improved practices that can help
to lessen damages to the company, public and nation.