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Mobile2023
MLH Emergency & Volunteers — iOS Applications
Two interconnected native iOS applications for emergency response and volunteer coordination, independently built and shipped.
Overview
Two interconnected native iOS applications supporting emergency response and volunteer coordination, independently developed and shipped with ~660 App Store downloads.
Problem
Emergency response relied on manually coordinating volunteers, equipment availability, phone calls, messaging, and navigation, creating unnecessary delays during time-sensitive incidents.
Requirements
- Track a roster of 66 volunteers and medical-equipment availability
- Provide fast access to phone, WhatsApp, and Waze for communication and navigation
- Support a simple SOS dispatch workflow with minimal delay between an incident and responder deployment
Architecture
Two interconnected native iOS applications built with Swift: one focused on emergency dispatch and SOS handling, and another focused on volunteer coordination. The apps shared operational information such as volunteer availability and medical-equipment status and integrated with phone, WhatsApp, and Waze functionality.
Technical Challenges
Keeping emergency and volunteer workflows coordinated
Volunteer availability, equipment status, and incident information needed to remain consistent between the two applications.
Reducing the number of steps during an emergency
Responders needed immediate access to navigation and communication tools without switching through multiple manual workflows.
Key Decisions
Split the solution into two focused applications
Separating dispatcher and volunteer workflows kept each application simpler and more focused while still allowing them to share operational information.
Solution
Built dedicated emergency and volunteer workflows with live volunteer and equipment tracking, plus direct integrations with phone, WhatsApp, and Waze to reduce the number of manual steps during dispatch.
Results
- Reduced average dispatch-to-arrival time from ~7 minutes to ~3 minutes.
- Reached ~660 App Store downloads across both applications.
- Supported coordination of 66 volunteers and their medical equipment.
Lessons Learned
- For time-sensitive applications, reducing user interaction steps can have as much impact as optimizing the underlying code.