Functional evaluation of civil protection mobile applications in the context of decision support for public alerts

Viktoria Bene; Iván Devosa; Norbert Daruka; Barbara Elek

doi:10.14513/actatechjaur.00983

Authors

Viktoria Bene Óbuda University Doctoral School on Safety and Security Sciences, Népszínház Street 8, H-1081 Budapest, Hungary
Iván Devosa University of Szeged, Faculty of Science and Informatics, Dugonics Square 13, H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
Norbert Daruka Óbuda University Doctoral School on Safety and Security Sciences, Népszínház Street 8, H-1081 Budapest, Hungary
Barbara Elek Óbuda University Doctoral School on Safety and Security Sciences, Népszínház Street 8, H-1081 Budapest, Hungary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14513/actatechjaur.00983

Keywords:

mobile applications, civil protection, functional evaluation, decision-making support framework, preparedness-alert-information

Abstract

Providing the public with fast, accurate and reliable information is a key element of civil protection in the prevention and management of emergencies. This study presents an international overview of civil protection mobile applications used in different countries, analyses their main functional characteristics and evaluates their role in alerting and informing the public. The study proposes a functional evaluation framework for civil protection mobile applications based on a weighted, multi-criteria evaluation approach. The framework evaluates localised alerts, monitoring integration, preparedness support, offline accessibility and communication depth. Civil protection applications used internationally are analysed and compared using a standardised scoring method. Based on the comparative analysis, decision-making implications are derived for the development of a civil protection mobile application tailored to the national civil protection organisation. The results confirm the role of mobile applications as complementary elements to traditional alerting infrastructures and provide practical guidance for system-level integration and future developments.

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