Taylor Ambulance Company provides emergency transport services for the City of Kelsey under a local contract. The system requirements are driven by the services that they provide and their organizational structure (Makar, 2015). The nature of their business is such that lives depend on them. Call volumes for ambulance services in a large city can be up to 2,500 calls per day (Long, 2009). Lives depend on the ability of the service to communicate in a time-critical manner. Stability of the system is the most important component. It is recommended that the system be over-engineered in the event that call volumes experience a sudden spike, such as in a natural disaster. Worst case scenario should be the guiding principle behind the development of the performance requirements of the system.
The organizational chart of Taylor Ambulance service is structured in such a way that the Operations Manager has oversight over 8 other departments. The most critical operations are those that directly affect the delivery of services. these are communications, dispatch, and field operations. These are the areas of the company that the business cannot operate without, and consequently the largest departments in terms of personnel. The ability to have reliable communications between operators in the field and dispatch in the field is critical. Therefore, this is the area that will receive the greatest attention in the requirements analysis process.
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There is a lot of missing information that will have to be gathered about this department via client interviews before the final system design. For instance, it is not known how many radios or communication devices are needed, or what types of backup communications are appropriate. Transitional requirements are also a key concern. The city and its citizens cannot be without service while the old system is being transitioned to the new one. A phased approach to the transition will be part of the plan. The costs of the project will be dependent on the individual components needed, of which field operations will constitute the largest portion.
- Long, Td. (2009, October 26). October 26, 1992: Software Glitch Cripples Ambulance Service. Wired. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/10/1026london-ambulance-computer-meltdown/
- Makar, A. (2015, July 22). 7 Tools to Gather Better Software Requirements. LiquidPlanner. Retrieved from https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/7-tools-to-gather-better-software-requirements/
