A Picture Paints a Thousand Words: Supporting Organizational Learning in the Emergency Services with Data Visualization

Purpose: This study aims to examine the use of data visualization as a tool to support practitioner-led organizational learning within the emergency services. The authors investigate how data visualization can support visual communication and the analysis of emergency response data to promote system improvement. Design/methodology/approach: The authors investigate if communication data, presented as node-link diagrams, can be understood and evaluated by firefighters. Objective understanding of the communication network is measured quantitatively, while subject judgement of the emergency response system is measured qualitatively and compared to prior system evaluation outcomes. The authors compare different data visualization layouts and assess their value in supporting practitioner evaluation of emergency response systems. Findings: The authors find that while firefighters are largely unfamiliar with their use, data visualizations function as a tool for visual communication and analysis. The authors identify the importance of visualization design and the difficulty in representing characteristics of a dynamic network within static diagrams. The authors also find some correlation between layout design and how respondents interpret visual data. Originality/value: Results demonstrate the value of data visualization to support practitioner-led organizational learning and suggest future work to support the development of emergency response management.