Modeling a Simulation for Sociotechnical Resilience

Abstract

This paper proposes a conceptual model to simulate the response of sociotechnical systems to crisis. The model draws on a concept of “sociotechnical resilience” as the theoretical framework, which underscores the hybrid nature of sociotechnical systems. Revolving around the notion of transformability, the concept considers sociotechnical resilience to be constitutive of three fundamental attributes, namely, informational relations, sociomaterial structures, and anticipatory practices. Our model aims to capture the complex interactions within a sociotechnical system during a recovery process by incorporating these core attributes in the operational units embedded in a multilevel directed acyclic graph, information networks, and recovery strategies. Furthermore, the model emphasizes specifically the role of informational configuration during a disruption. We introduce two recovery strategies in our simulation, namely, random recovery and informed recovery. The former represents the unprepared responses to crisis, while the latter incorporates the reporting process to support the command centre in making optimum decisions. The simulation results suggest the importance of system flexibility to allow structural reconfiguration at the organizational level. Our proposed model complements the theoretical principles of sociotechnical resilience while laying a practical foundation of sociotechnical modeling for resilience enhancement in real-world settings.