FDNY

The Fire Department of New York City has the fastest dispatch system in the country. When a call comes in, it takes under 3 minutes to arrive at the scene. 

My role

As one of two senior designers, I established design processes, aligned cross-functional teams, set the visual direction, and guided four designers through delivery of the CAD system.

Impact

We delivered a modern, maintainable dispatch system that preserved NYC’s record 3-minute response time. Read more here.

Goal

The original CAD system – called Starfire – was built in the 70s and hadn't been updated or changed since.  Our goal was to modernize FDNY's outdated technology without disrupting dispatcher workflows or onboarding time.

Research

The FDNY dispatchers know New York City like the back of their hand, and their process works. We wouldn’t be able to take the system – or NYC – offline in order for onboarding and training to a new CAD. Because of this, we spent 4 months in heavy research on the dispatch floor to learn their process so we could seamlessly unroll new software to take its place. 

We dissected the CAD’s current functionality by going through each screen line-by-line, making sure we had a thorough understanding of the process in this high-stakes public safety project. This research shaped the constraints and principles for the new system.

Design

The redesign preserved the logic, tabbing sequences, and visual patterns in certain areas to preserve speed. We modernized only where changes reduced cognitive load or improved clarity.

Contact

Email: claire.casaregola@gmail.com
LinkedIn: @clairecas