ACH Walkthrough

Abstract

This paper presents Ach Walkthrough, a prototype software client-server application to demonstrate the potential benefits of surface technologies in collaborative security intelligence analysis. The basis is the ACH (Analysis of Competing Hypotheses) technique, which requests factors relating to evidence and hypotheses, and builds a model that reduces cognitive bias, thereby helping decision-making. Our application supports development of this model using visualization techniques that allow collaboration and reflection. The technology we use is surface computing, where analysts work around a large multi-touch display, but also multidevice technology, where the model is consistent across various large and small displays. The software runs in standard web-browsers, leveraging HTML5 and JavaScript libraries on both client and server. This allows deployment without installation, and thus security and flexibility.

Exploratory study of a system to reduce information overload and tunnel vision in homicide investigations

“…We would have liked to compare our results to those achieved with other methodologies that could be used for investigations and have a prototype and/or tool. For instance, by comparing our perceived TV and IO to that achieved with the collaborative prototype software application ACH Walkthrough tool (ACH-W) [Wilson, Brown and Biddle, 2014], which is based on the Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH) methodology. They aimed to create a prototype that supports collaborative sensemaking.…”

“…Likewise, research could compare C-SEL with methods currently mentioned by participants such as mind mapping. Moreover, a comparison could be made between C-SEL and other existing tools that aimto prevent tunnel vision and/or information overload in investigations such as ACH-W and TRACE [Wilson et al, 2014;Stromer-Galley et al, 2021]. This however requires a working implementation of the tool, allowing the users to use it in a complete manner.…”