Seasoned IT managers agree that building IT infrastructure (hardware and software) in the midst of a crisis is extremely difficult. Ideally, the laboratory will have in place the policies, processes, and network infrastructure to support a mass fatality incident response.
Prior to a mass fatality identification effort, the IT manager’s strategic plan should:
The IT manager’s strategic objectives during a mass fatality incident response should be to:
Finally, if the laboratory cannot avoid writing custom software code during a mass fatality incident response, the IT manager should attempt to limit such software, because the introduction of new programming languages, platforms, etc., during this time increases the complexity of management, drives up costs, and can result in unexpected consequences affecting already functional programs.