ITGS Paper 3 Case Study 2013 - Red Dragon Taxi Company

Introduction lesson

The aim of this task is to familiarise students with the 2013 case study, to check their understanding of key parts and vocabulary, and to link it to some of their prior learning. Students will  need to re-read key parts of the case study booklet in order to answer a series of questions.

Download the lesson here: Red Dragon introduction questions

Mapping lesson

This task is designed to help students understand the relationship between the key components of the Red Dragon case study. Visual learners in particular may find this helpful. This task can be done individually (it is possible using paper but electronically is preferred) or as a large classroom display which can be referred to whenever you are teaching the case study (which I personally prefer).

Download the activity here: Red Dragon mapping activity

Spreadsheet Practical lesson

The aim of this task is to improve students' understanding of the case study and the current challenges faced by the Red Dragon Taxi Company. Students will create a spreadsheet similar to the one currently used by the company. This should help them understand the difficulty of maintaining accurate, up to date information, and performing analysis on it. Students will also examine issues related to data integrity and data transfer between applications.

This activity also serves as a practical skills refresher lesson and as revision of the differences between spreadsheets and databases.

Download the lesson here: Red Dragon Taxi Company spreadsheet task

Database Practical lesson

This activity can help students understand the requirements of Red Dragon Taxi Company as well as provide a useful opportunity for database revision. It involves creating a relational database that can store customer, taxi, and journey information for Red Dragon.

This task could also be done as a written activity, with students creating an Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) for the database.

Download the lesson here: Red Dragon Taxi Company database task

Red Dragon Recommendation Task

This activity is designed to help students synthesize all the knowledge they have acquired during the case study lessons. The task is to make a recommendation report for Red Dragon Taxi Company, and formulate a plan for the implementation of new technologies. Students will need to reference both secondary and primary research, just as they do in the final exam.  This task focuses on the highest order ITGS command terms - justify and formulate - and can be performed as a written report or a presentation.

The activity should also help students revise key ITGS topics including system fundamentals (hardware and software), mapping systems, and the Higher Level IT Systems in Organisations topic.

Download the lesson here: Red Dragon Taxi Company recommendation task

Secondary research: Taxi management and dispatch systems

• T-Dispatch is a cloud-based taxi booking system. It offers features such as automatically sending text message updates to customers. There is an informative promotional video here.
• DDS Taxi Fleet Optimization Detailed information on taxi dispatch and management systems, GPS, and satellite navigation.
• Cordic Lots of information on the benefits of taxi dispatch systems for drivers and dispatchers.
• AutoCab Very detailed page with many things relating directly to the case study (GPRS, loyalty cards, etc).
• Taxi Central This appears to be a remotely hosted system (Software as a Service).

Secondary research: Mobile payment systems

Red Dragon Taxi Company may also require better payment systems for their customers (especially regular customers). The resources below detail a variety of possible payment technologies, including mobile payment. Of course, security is a key issue with any payment system, with potentially very serious impacts if unauthorised users are able to access sensitive customer data stored by Red Dragon Taxi Company.

• Stro cyclos taxi payment system (video). Using mobile phones to pay for taxis via SMS.
• NFC - Not for Consumers? (BBC). Discuses near-field communication that can be used to turn mobile phones into wallets.
• Square Wallet is an app for paying for goods and services via mobile phone.

Secondary research: Driver monitoring and tracking systems

• Telematics is the process of using IT to monitor driver behaviour
• New technology could put an end to taxicab long-hauling A technology to monitor taxi drivers to discourage them from taking longer routes to increase passengers' fares.
• 'Smartbox' that could lower young drivers' premiums (Guardian). A smartbox that monitors driving standards could improve safety and lower insurance costs.
• LiveViewGPS offers GPS fleet tracking and businesses.

Secondary research: Examples of taxi companies

• Taxis Combined An Australian taxi company that allows customers to book online. Useful for investigating the types of features Red Dragon Taxi Company might want to offer.
• Uber is a taxi startup that lets customers use smartphones to summon nearby taxis. It is faced quite a lot of controversy and has been accused of operating illegal taxi cab operation.
• Cabubble A UK site that acts as something of a taxi price comparison site, in addition to allowing online bookings.
• UbiCabs An app for the iPhone or Android that allows UK users to select and book taxis
• Cabmania Another UK-based site for online taxi booking