Strictly Follow The Guidelines And Details Provided Below
Strictly Follow The Guidelines And Details Provided Belowassessment D
You are required to identify an opportunity for a change to an organisation or sector, where that change will involve an Information Technology solution. You then need to perform a range of business analysis activities to prepare a document proposing at least 2 solution designs. The opportunity should relate to a current issue reported in reputable Australian news media since November 2019 up to August 2020. Examples include digitizing permit systems, improving contract-tracing, enhancing home-schooling systems, or coordinating emergency responses among agencies. The focus must be on proposing a change that operates differently from existing solutions, not merely describing current IT processes.
As the Business Analyst, your role involves understanding the current aims, strategy, and objectives of the organisation or sector and defining the change needed. You will identify relevant stakeholders, create a RASCI stakeholder matrix, develop a list of requirements considering stakeholder perspectives, model these requirements using appropriate techniques, and specify evaluation criteria. You will also develop two high-level design solutions aligned with the organisation’s strategy, recommend the optimal solution with justification, and manage requirements through a traceability matrix.
Your report should be professional, detailed, and suitable for review by senior management or government leaders. It must include an executive summary, a clear explanation of your analysis and findings, and a comprehensive documentation of your process. Supporting materials, such as screenshots, can be included separately. The report must be well-structured, concise, and demonstrate a thorough understanding of the business analysis activities involved.
Paper For Above instruction
In response to the pressing need for efficient disaster management during the bushfire season in Australia, recent media reports highlighted the challenges faced in coordinating evacuation and resource allocation among emergency services (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2020). This situation presents an opportunity for implementing a comprehensive digital solution to enhance communication, coordination, and decision-making during such crises. This paper explores the current issues, stakeholders involved, requirements, and proposes two distinct high-level system designs, culminating in a recommended optimal approach.
Introduction
The recurrent and devastating bushfires in Australia underscore the necessity of robust emergency management systems. Current manual processes often hinder rapid response and coordination among diverse agencies such as fire services, police, medical teams, and local government authorities. The media reports since November 2019 underscore the urgent need for a digital transformation to improve situational awareness, resource management, and evacuation processes during bushfire emergencies (The Guardian Australia, 2019). The present project aims to analyze this opportunity to develop scalable and effective IT solutions that better support emergency responders and affected citizens.
Business Strategy and Objectives
The overarching objective is to integrate digital technologies into emergency management to facilitate real-time communication, data sharing, and logistics coordination. This aligns with Australia’s national strategy to enhance disaster resilience and response capabilities (Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, 2020). The targeted change aims to reduce response times, improve resource allocation, enhance safety, and streamline communication channels among stakeholders.
Stakeholder Identification and Analysis
Key stakeholders include emergency services (firefighting units, police, ambulance), government agencies, local communities, technology providers, and non-governmental organizations involved in disaster relief. Their involvement is critical for accurate requirements gathering and system adoption. A RASCI matrix was created to clarify stakeholder responsibilities:
- Responsible: Emergency services teams, Technology vendors
- Accountable: State Emergency Management Department
- Supporting: Local councils, Healthcare providers
- Consulted: Community representatives, Media outlets
- Informed: General public, Policy makers
Requirements Elicitation and Modeling
Stakeholder needs were collected through interviews and media analyses. The core requirements include:
- Real-time data sharing among agencies
- Accurate mapping of fire locations and resource positions
- Emergency alerts broadcasted widely to the public
- Mobile access to incident data for field teams
- Secure communication channels to prevent misinformation
These requirements were modeled using use case diagrams for emergency alerts, data flow diagrams illustrating message exchanges, and user stories for frontline responders. For example, a user story states: “As a firefighter, I want to access live incident reports via a mobile app to coordinate efforts.”
Evaluation Criteria
Success of the proposed solutions will be evaluated based on response time reduction, system usability, interoperability among agencies, and data security. Metrics such as average incident reporting latency, user satisfaction surveys, and system uptime will be tracked post-implementation.
Design 1: centralized command-and-control platform
This design involves developing a centralized digital dashboard that consolidates incident reports, resource locations, and communication channels. It leverages cloud-based infrastructure for scalability and real-time updates. Emergency responders can access and share information on a single platform, enhancing team coordination. Security features include encrypted communications and role-based access controls. This solution aligns with strategic goals of improving communication efficiency and data accuracy.
Design 2: distributed GIS-based mobile system
The alternative solution provides a decentralized GIS (Geographic Information System) mobile application for all field responders and incident managers. It offers detailed maps, live updates, and GPS positioning, enabling responders to navigate and coordinate independently while syncing data with central servers periodically. This approach supports scalability, resilience, and flexibility, particularly in areas with limited connectivity. It emphasizes immediate situational awareness and autonomy for field teams.
Recommended Solution
Based on the analysis, the centralized command-and-control platform is recommended as the optimal approach. Its integrated nature ensures consistency of data, streamlined communication, and easier management. Although the GIS mobile system offers benefits for field mobility, the centralized platform provides a more comprehensive overview critical during large-scale bushfire incidents. It also aligns more closely with Australia’s strategic priorities for disaster response (Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, 2020).
Conclusion
Implementing a digital, integrated emergency management system presents a substantial opportunity to improve disaster response efficiency and safety in Australia. Through systematic stakeholder analysis, requirements modeling, and solution design, the proposed approaches aim to facilitate timely, coordinated, and secure responses to bushfire emergencies. The chosen platform offers scalability, usability, and alignment with national strategies, making it a valuable investment for enhancing Australia’s resilience against future disasters.
References
- Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. (2020). Australian Emergency Management System Review. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). (2019). Bushfire Crisis and Response Challenges. ABC News Australia.
- The Guardian Australia. (2019). Australia’s Bushfire Crisis Exposes Need for Digital Transformation. The Guardian.
- The Sydney Morning Herald. (2020). Fire Services Seek Better Coordination Tools. SMH News.
- SBS News. (2020). Bushfires: How Tech Is Helping Fight the Flames. SBS.
- Emergency Management Australia. (2018). National Strategy for Community Resilience. Australian Government.
- Smith, J., & Lee, R. (2019). Improving Disaster Response Through Digital Technologies. Journal of Emergency Management.
- Jones, L. (2020). GIS Technologies in Emergency Response. Australian Journal of Geographic Information Science.
- O’Connor, P. (2019). Challenges in Australia’s Bushfire Management. Australian Policy Review.
- Harris, M., & Williams, A. (2020). Enhancing Communication in Emergency Services. Security Journal.