Spent the first few minutes just trying to nail down requirements because this thing could go a hundred directions.
Start by clarifying the scope: what types of disasters (natural, man-made), target population size, and delivery channels (SMS, voice, push, sirens). Then design a scalable, multi-channel system with high availability, focusing on trade-offs like latency vs. reliability and cost vs. coverage.
Pro tip: Emphasize the need for redundancy and failover across channels and regions, and discuss how to handle message prioritization and throttling to avoid network congestion during emergencies.
Ask questions to understand scale (e.g., millions of users), latency requirements, types of alerts, and integration with existing telecom infrastructure.
Outline core components: alert ingestion, processing, routing, and delivery via multiple channels (SMS, voice, push, cell broadcast). Include a geo-targeting service.
Detail the message queue, prioritization, and delivery mechanisms. Discuss how to ensure low latency and high throughput using distributed systems.
Explain redundancy, failover, and load balancing. Discuss how to handle spikes and ensure message delivery even under network stress.
Discuss trade-offs between cost, speed, and reliability. Mention security, privacy, and regulatory compliance (e.g., FCC, GDPR).
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.