Project Overview
Mnet is proud to represent ‘INCSnap’ (Incident Snap); a native iOS application and digital asset management solution designed for Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) and other State Emergency Services to manage real-time critical information related to emergency response incidents.
Designed and delivered in just six weeks the solution has been extremely successful in operation and has been expanded and formalised as a primary tool in incident response and has been rapidly adopted by other services and states. Most recently in Cyclone Ita, INCSnap was the sole source of quality imagery and reliable data during the initial response phase. It has been credited with informing QFES response coordination, the Premier, the public and helping save property and lives.
Project Commissioner
Queensland Fire and Emergency Service
Project Creator
Team
Team Mnet
Project Brief
The need for timely and accurate information is has always been a core objective of Emergency Services organisations.
In emergencies, rank and file response staff had limited access to specialist software and hardware for incident response assessment, coordination and management. Sometimes it was taking up to 6 hours for reliable information and media to reach incident control. Meanwhile real-time misinformation in public forums like Twitter was causing unnecessary panic, amongst other issues. On occasion, response workers were capturing images and information on personal devices, which was a strong clue to the solution, but of course this was insecure and ad hoc at best.
QFES required a secure application for emergency response staff to capture and manage critical and sensitive content in the early stages of emergency response.
Project Need
We believed smartphones were the answer. A native iOS front-end application and secure back-end repository were developed to secure, high-resolution media and critical reporting information at emergency response incidents in the field.
Decision makers are able to access real-time first-response information, images and video from a secure, central, digital storage point. They are much better informed as to an incident’s status and nature in real-time and find themselves better able to plan the response and comment on matters of public interest, supported by high resolution detail.
Since completion in early 2014 INCSnap has become a vital component of initial response analysis and communication, and has been formally included within the 'Commander’s Intent'(the official process for Strategy and Planning around response to incidents).
During Cyclone Ita specifically, INCSnap played a critical role. With the Cyclone in full fury, the Government and disaster planning authorities were urgently demanding quality information from the Cyclone’s epicentre. Attesting to its usability and value, in a single hour during Cyclone Ita, one individual logged 30 submissions, sending over 120 data points back to the Central Command. INCSnap was the sole source of quality imagery and data during the initial response phase.
Over 2,000 QFES emergency operational staff are now armed with the INCSnap App. It has been commissioned for delivery (with minor customisations) to Melbourne’s Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB) based on its success and efficacy. It is also being reviewed by a number of other services.
User Experience
Our overarching goal was to deliver speed.
Mnet designed a fully native and commercial grade user experience to deliver on this goal.
By adhering to iOS human interface guidelines we provided a familiar and predictable user interface so that emergency response workers would not have to think about how to use the app; instead they could concentrate on the information they were providing.
Mnet started with design exercises and usability testing of prototypes to find the fastest flows. Exhausting and testing the alternatives was most critical to achieving the goal.
Input tasks were optimally facilitated; for example autosuggestion of locations or the spacious modal screen for inputting comments.
Visual design ensured high contrast ratio text to allow for the challenging environments the app is used in. This included extreme weather and flashing lights, amongst other scenarios.
We also gave the application an identity, through the name, colour and the established logos of the emergency services. We made the app recognisable and reinforced its simple and singular purpose
Project Marketing
This enterprise solution is deployed to the 2000+ QFES staff it was designed for.
Project Privacy
The application is fully secure, meeting a core requirement to manage highly sensitive information.
Data and images captured through the application are encrypted and send to the back-end data repository without ever being retained on the device, eliminating the possibility of unauthorised distribution of sensitive data.
The application is deployed to devices through the secure QFES Mobile Device Management system, and access to the data repository is managed by integration to QFES Active Directory and only for personnel authorised for access by QFES administrators.
INCSnap addresses all of the requirements articulated by QFES, and has been operationally proven to meet requirements and functional outcomes in excess of those originally specified.
Tags
Government Services
This category recognises applications developed for all levels of government services.
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