Desenvolvimento de protótipo de um sistema electrônico de leitura e pagamento do consumo de água, estudo de caso: Mafuiágua

Abstract

The private water supply network in the Ferroviário neighborhood in Maputo city, Mafuiágua, faces challenges in the process of reading and paying for water consumption due to the manual way the process is conducted. The traditional approach increases the chances of incorrect and inconsistent readings, leading to complaints and the need for estimated readings in cases of inaccessibility to the water meter.

This work describes the development of a prototype of an electronic system for reading and paying for water consumption. The proposed solution allows customers to self-read their water consumption through a smartphone, scanning the QR Code of an electronic device (water meter) installed in the customer's residence, at predefined time intervals. After the reading, the system generates an invoice corresponding to the recorded consumption, allowing the customer to make the payment through the same platform. To achieve the objectives, a qualitative research methodology was adopted, which included data collection through case studies, interviews, and surveys, to situate the topic within the field of knowledge. The Scrum agile methodology was employed for software development, allowing for flexibility and continuous improvements during the development process.

In this way, the system is expected to provide greater consistency and flexibility in reading and paying for water consumption, optimizing the organization's internal management and centralizing information in a secure digital system. The proposal includes the development of a prototype electronic water meter which, together with the digital software, aims to modernize the process of reading and paying for water consumption, ensuring greater efficiency and accuracy.