Enterprise software · Public safety
“Can this be done, and can you build it?”
I had never built this kind of audio-streaming platform. I learned the domain while designing and implementing a browser system for department radio traffic.
The open question
The request started with feasibility, not a specification.
The question was essentially, “Can this be done, and can you build it?” A law-enforcement department needed radio traffic available through the workstations people already used. The alternative third-party approach carried roughly a quarter million dollars in annual cost.
Learning the domain
I learned audio, networking, and browser behavior while I built it.
I had a software background, but I had not built a radio-streaming platform before. I researched how the audio moved through the network, how browsers handled continuous playback, and what operational behavior mattered when the stream carried live department traffic. That research shaped the architecture and the interface at the same time.
What I built
A browser platform for the workstations already in place.
I designed and implemented the system with JavaScript and browser audio tooling. The interface brought department radio traffic into one clear surface with visible status, volume, playback, and the controls people needed during a shift.
Beyond the initial request
Building the first version exposed two useful capabilities nobody had asked for.
A person can miss a transmission even while sitting at the desk, so I retained the most recent audio and added a way to replay roughly the previous ten seconds. People also step away, so I added pause. Neither capability was part of the original question; both came from understanding how the system would actually be used.
Result
The department got a purpose-built platform instead of more third-party tooling.
The important part of the project was not prior audio expertise. It was being able to enter an unfamiliar domain, learn quickly, recognize needs beyond the first request, and carry the solution from feasibility through implementation.