Opinions: Opinionated Software

Responserack Opinionated Software

Opinionated software is crafted believing that a certain way of approaching a business process is inherently better. Responserack is most definitely opinionated software.

Over the course of a series of posts I’ll lay out some of these opinions for you to decide if Responserack is a fit for your organization.

Let’s start with a high level. Volunteer Firefighters software should be:

• Mobile; phones / tablets and laptops.
• Simple; software should work for the firefighter.
• Visual / Styled. Don’t make me read! Less is more.

Many volunteer firefighters have laptops, but making software mobile (for phones and tablets) allows them to access their departments information whenever and wherever they are. Keeping screens simple allows firefighters to complete tasks quickly. Using visual cues saves time (saves reading) and allows firefighters to scan and process information quickly.

For example - viewing incidents:

Volunteer firefighters want to check on recent incidents to ensure the details are correctly documented, and/or out of curiosity. Having this option in their pocket allows them to stay engaged whenever they have a moment.

Responserack presents incidents latest first, with a visual indicator on type (for quick scanning), and with key details presented for review. Showing the person check mark (see below) shows that the viewing firefighter is marked as attended.

Bringing information “up to the firefighter” (saving them from having to dig down to get it) is a Responserack opinion.

Check out our opinion posts to help you decide if Responserack is a fit for your organization.