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Activity Ticketing System - Requirement Specification

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose

This document specifies the functional and non-functional requirements for the Activity Ticketing System, which enables the platform to offer tours, activities, and experiences from third-party ticket suppliers to end customers.

1.2 Scope

The Activity Ticketing System provides: - Integration with external ticket suppliers via standardized interfaces - Product catalog management with real-time synchronization - Dynamic pricing and availability checking - Complete booking lifecycle management (creation, confirmation, amendment, cancellation) - Ticket generation and delivery - Customer booking management and tracking

1.3 Document Conventions

  • SHALL indicates mandatory requirements
  • SHOULD indicates recommended requirements
  • MAY indicates optional requirements

2. System Overview

The Activity Ticketing System acts as an intermediary between the travel platform and third-party ticket suppliers. It provides a unified interface for managing ticketed experiences regardless of the supplier's specific API format or protocol.

2.1 Key Components

  • Product Catalog - Centralized repository of available activities and tours
  • Booking Engine - Manages the complete booking lifecycle
  • Supplier Integration - Connects to external ticket provider APIs
  • Ticketing Service - Generates and delivers tickets/vouchers
  • Customer Portal - Allows customers to view and manage bookings

3. Functional Requirements

3.1 Product Catalog Management

3.1.1 Product Information

REQ-CAT-001: The system SHALL maintain comprehensive product information for each activity including: - Unique product identifier - Product name and description - Product type/category classification - Destination information (country, city, location) - Duration and schedule information - Language availability - Age restrictions and passenger type definitions (adult, child, infant) - Capacity and group size limitations

REQ-CAT-002: The system SHALL support rich content for each product: - Multiple product images with captions - Detailed itineraries and schedules - Inclusions and exclusions lists - Important information and notes - Terms and conditions - Cancellation and amendment policies - Frequently asked questions

REQ-CAT-003: The system SHALL support product categorization: - Hierarchical category structure - Multiple category assignments per product - Category-based browsing and filtering

3.1.2 Product Variants and Options

REQ-CAT-004: The system SHALL support configurable product attributes: - Product options (e.g., standard, premium, VIP variants) - Transfer types (e.g., shared, private, no transfer, self-drive) - Time slots for activities with multiple daily departures - Add-on services and upgrades

REQ-CAT-005: The system SHALL enforce attribute dependencies: - Certain attribute combinations may be invalid - Available options in one attribute may depend on selections in another - The system SHALL prevent selection of invalid combinations

REQ-CAT-006: The system SHALL support multi-passenger pricing: - Separate pricing for adults, children, and infants - Age ranges SHALL be configurable per product - Minimum and maximum passenger requirements

3.1.3 Catalog Synchronization

REQ-CAT-007: The system SHALL synchronize product data from supplier systems: - Scheduled automatic synchronization at configurable intervals - Manual synchronization on demand - Incremental updates for changed products only - Full catalog refresh capability

REQ-CAT-008: The system SHALL maintain local cache of supplier catalogs: - Products and descriptions - Pricing information within validity periods - Availability calendars - Image references and media assets

REQ-CAT-009: The system SHALL track synchronization status: - Last successful sync timestamp per data entity - Sync failures and error details - Data freshness indicators

REQ-SRCH-001: The system SHALL provide category-based browsing: - List all available categories - Display products within selected categories - Support multi-level category hierarchies

REQ-SRCH-002: The system SHALL support product search by: - Product name or keywords - Destination (country, city) - Product type or category - Date range availability - Price range

REQ-SRCH-003: The system SHALL provide product lookup capabilities: - Search by internal product ID - Search by supplier product code - Partial name matching

3.2.2 Product Display

REQ-SRCH-004: The system SHALL display product listings with: - Product name and brief description - Primary product image - Starting price (from lowest available) - Duration and key highlights - Availability indicators

REQ-SRCH-005: The system SHALL provide detailed product views with: - Complete product information and descriptions - Full image galleries - Detailed pricing for all variants - Complete terms, conditions, and policies - Customer reviews and ratings (when available) - Available dates and time slots

3.3 Availability and Pricing

3.3.1 Availability Checking

REQ-AVAIL-001: The system SHALL check real-time availability before booking: - Query supplier systems for current availability status - Check for specific date, option, transfer, and time slot combinations - Return availability status: Available, On Request, Sold Out, or Not Available

REQ-AVAIL-002: The system SHALL support different availability types: - Available - Immediate confirmation possible - On Request - Requires manual supplier confirmation - Sold Out - No capacity remaining - Not Available - Not operating on selected date

REQ-AVAIL-003: The system SHALL enforce booking constraints: - Minimum and maximum passenger counts - Advance booking requirements (lead time) - Cut-off times before departure - Blackout dates and restricted periods

3.3.2 Dynamic Pricing

REQ-PRICE-001: The system SHALL retrieve real-time pricing: - Query supplier for current rates - Breakdown by passenger type (adult/child/infant) - Total cost calculation including all fees - Supplier cost and selling price separation

REQ-PRICE-002: The system SHALL support pricing variations by: - Travel date and season - Selected product option and variant - Transfer type selection - Time slot preference - Party size and composition

REQ-PRICE-003: The system SHALL calculate total booking cost: - Sum of all passenger charges - Additional fees and surcharges - Applicable taxes - Currency conversion (when required)

3.3.3 Additional Requirements Detection

REQ-PRICE-004: The system SHALL identify when additional information is required: - Pickup location for transfers - Specific passenger details beyond name - Dietary requirements or preferences - Accessibility needs - Special requests

3.4 Booking Request Management

3.4.1 Booking Request Creation

REQ-BOOK-001: The system SHALL create booking requests containing: - Unique booking request identifier and reference number - Customer information (name, email, phone, nationality) - Selected product(s) with all configuration details - Travel dates and times - Passenger counts by type - Total booking amount

REQ-BOOK-002: The system SHALL support multiple items per booking: - Different products in same booking - Same product with different dates/options - Mixed supplier products in single request

REQ-BOOK-003: The system SHALL collect required passenger information: - Lead passenger designation - Passenger names (as per travel documents when required) - Contact information (email, mobile phone) - Nationality and residency - Special requirements or requests

REQ-BOOK-004: The system SHALL validate booking requests before submission: - All required fields completed - Valid passenger counts and types - Availability confirmed - Pricing current and accurate - Terms and conditions acceptance

3.4.2 Booking Request Processing

REQ-BOOK-005: The system SHALL process booking requests through these states: - Pending - Request created, awaiting supplier submission - Submitted - Sent to supplier, awaiting response - Confirmed - Accepted by supplier with booking reference - On Request - Awaiting manual supplier confirmation - Rejected - Declined by supplier - Cancelled - Booking cancelled after confirmation - Failed - Processing error occurred

REQ-BOOK-006: The system SHALL assign unique identifiers: - Internal booking request ID - Customer-facing booking reference number - Supplier booking reference (upon confirmation) - Order number linking to payment system

REQ-BOOK-007: The system SHALL track booking timestamps: - Request creation date/time - Last modification date/time - Submission timestamp - Confirmation timestamp - Cancellation timestamp (if applicable)

3.4.3 Booking Consolidation

REQ-BOOK-008: The system SHALL consolidate booking items: - Group identical product/date/option combinations - Aggregate passenger counts - Maintain traceability to original cart items - Optimize supplier communication

3.5 Supplier Communication

3.5.1 Booking Submission

REQ-SUPP-001: The system SHALL transmit booking requests to suppliers: - Transform internal format to supplier-specific format - Include all required booking details - Provide unique reference numbers for tracking - Send complete passenger manifest - Specify service dates, times, and locations

REQ-SUPP-002: The system SHALL handle supplier responses: - Parse confirmation messages - Extract supplier booking references - Capture confirmation numbers and voucher details - Record pricing confirmation - Store special instructions or requirements

REQ-SUPP-003: The system SHALL manage communication errors: - Retry failed requests with exponential backoff - Log all communication attempts - Alert operators of persistent failures - Maintain request queue for offline processing

3.5.2 Booking Operations

REQ-SUPP-004: The system SHALL support these supplier operations: - Initialize Request - Prepare booking data for transmission - Send Request - Submit booking to supplier - Check Status - Query booking status - Confirm Booking - Finalize provisional bookings - Cancel Booking - Request cancellation - Amend Booking - Modify existing booking

3.6 Ticketing and Confirmation

3.6.1 Ticket Generation

REQ-TICK-001: The system SHALL generate tickets/vouchers containing: - Booking reference number - Supplier confirmation/voucher number - Product name and description - Service date and time - Passenger information - Pickup location (when applicable) - Barcode or QR code for validation - Terms and conditions - Important information and instructions

REQ-TICK-002: The system SHALL support multiple ticket formats: - PDF vouchers for printing - HTML tickets for email - Mobile-optimized tickets - QR codes for mobile scanning - PDF417 barcodes for printed vouchers

REQ-TICK-003: The system SHALL generate barcodes: - Unique barcode per ticket item - QR code format support - PDF417 format support - Embedded in ticket documents - Separate image files for integration

3.6.2 Ticket Delivery

REQ-TICK-004: The system SHALL deliver tickets via: - Email to customer's registered address - Download from customer portal - Mobile app integration - Print-at-home capability

REQ-TICK-005: The system SHALL send confirmation emails: - Immediate upon booking confirmation - Include all booking details - Attach ticket/voucher documents - Provide booking management links - Include customer support contact information

REQ-TICK-006: The system SHALL support ticket resending: - Customer-initiated resend from portal - Agent-initiated resend from admin interface - Automated resend for booking modifications

3.6.3 Booking Confirmation Details

REQ-TICK-007: The system SHALL maintain confirmation records: - Confirmation ID and reference numbers - Supplier booking reference - Supplier voucher number (if different) - Ticket barcode values - Barcode image references - Service start and end dates - Time slot information - Reservation name - Ticket holder information - Associated order item references

3.7 Booking Lifecycle Management

3.7.1 Booking Retrieval

REQ-MGMT-001: The system SHALL provide booking lookup by: - Booking reference number - Customer ID - Email address with access code - Date range - Supplier reference number

REQ-MGMT-002: The system SHALL display booking information: - Complete booking details - Current status - Payment information - Ticket/voucher documents - Communication history - Amendment and cancellation options

3.7.2 Booking Amendments

REQ-MGMT-003: The system SHALL support booking amendments: - Date changes (subject to availability and supplier policy) - Time slot modifications - Passenger count changes - Option/variant upgrades - Additional services

REQ-MGMT-004: The system SHALL enforce amendment policies: - Check supplier amendment rules - Calculate amendment fees - Verify availability for new date/time - Require customer acceptance of price changes - Update tickets with new information

REQ-MGMT-005: The system SHALL track amendment history: - Original booking details - Amendment requests with timestamps - Approval/rejection status - Updated booking information - Amendment charges

3.7.3 Booking Cancellations

REQ-MGMT-006: The system SHALL support cancellation requests: - Full booking cancellation - Partial cancellation (specific items) - Customer-initiated cancellations - Agent-initiated cancellations - Automatic cancellations (e.g., payment failure)

REQ-MGMT-007: The system SHALL apply cancellation policies: - Calculate cancellation fees based on timing - Apply supplier-specific cancellation rules - Determine refund amounts - Generate refund requests - Update booking status

REQ-MGMT-008: The system SHALL process supplier cancellations: - Submit cancellation request to supplier - Await cancellation confirmation - Update internal booking status - Generate cancellation documentation - Notify customer of cancellation

REQ-MGMT-009: The system SHALL handle cancellation outcomes: - Confirmed cancellations with refund details - Rejected cancellations with reasons - Partial cancellations with adjusted amounts - Cancellation with penalties applied

3.7.4 Booking Status Tracking

REQ-MGMT-010: The system SHALL maintain booking status: - Current overall booking status - Individual item statuses - Status transition history - Status change timestamps - Status change reasons

REQ-MGMT-011: The system SHALL provide status notifications: - Email notifications for status changes - SMS notifications (when configured) - In-app notifications - Agent dashboard alerts

3.8 Customer Self-Service

3.8.1 Booking Access

REQ-CUST-001: The system SHALL provide secure booking access: - Access via booking reference and email - Time-limited access codes - Secure access links with expiration - Password-less authentication

REQ-CUST-002: The system SHALL allow customers to: - View complete booking details - Download tickets/vouchers - Request ticket resend - View cancellation policies - Initiate cancellation requests (within policy) - Update contact information

REQ-CUST-003: The system SHALL provide booking search: - Search by booking reference - Search by email and date range - Search by service date - Filter by booking status

3.9 Administrative Functions

3.9.1 Booking Management

REQ-ADMIN-001: The system SHALL provide administrative interfaces for: - Viewing all bookings with filtering - Searching bookings by multiple criteria - Viewing detailed booking information - Processing amendment requests - Processing cancellation requests - Manual status updates (with justification)

REQ-ADMIN-002: The system SHALL support manual interventions: - Override availability checks (with approval) - Adjust pricing (with authorization) - Force booking confirmation - Manual ticket regeneration - Customer communication resend

3.9.2 Reporting

REQ-ADMIN-003: The system SHALL provide reports on: - Booking volumes by date range - Revenue by product/supplier - Booking status distribution - Cancellation rates and reasons - Supplier performance metrics - Failed booking analysis


4. Non-Functional Requirements

4.1 Performance

REQ-PERF-001: The system SHALL respond to availability queries within 5 seconds under normal load.

REQ-PERF-002: The system SHALL process booking submissions within 10 seconds or provide status updates for longer operations.

REQ-PERF-003: The system SHALL support concurrent booking requests: - Minimum 50 concurrent users - Peak load of 200 concurrent users - No degradation under normal concurrent load

REQ-PERF-004: The system SHALL cache frequently accessed data: - Product catalog information - Supplier configuration - Category structures - Common lookup data

REQ-PERF-005: Catalog synchronization SHALL complete within: - 30 minutes for incremental updates - 2 hours for full catalog refresh - No impact on user-facing operations during sync

4.2 Reliability

REQ-REL-001: The system SHALL have 99.5% uptime (excluding planned maintenance).

REQ-REL-002: The system SHALL ensure booking data integrity: - No lost booking requests - Transactional booking processing - Automatic recovery from failures - Booking state consistency

REQ-REL-003: The system SHALL handle supplier unavailability: - Queue booking requests when supplier offline - Retry with exponential backoff - Alert administrators of extended outages - Process queued requests upon recovery

REQ-REL-004: The system SHALL maintain audit trails: - All booking state changes - All supplier communications - All administrative actions - All customer interactions

4.3 Security

REQ-SEC-001: The system SHALL protect customer data: - Encryption of personal information at rest - Encryption of data in transit (TLS 1.2+) - Secure storage of payment card data (PCI compliance) - Access controls and authentication

REQ-SEC-002: The system SHALL implement authorization: - Role-based access control - Principle of least privilege - Session management and timeout - Audit logging of access

REQ-SEC-003: The system SHALL secure supplier integrations: - Encrypted communication channels - API key/credential management - IP whitelisting (when supported) - Request signing and validation

REQ-SEC-004: The system SHALL protect against common attacks: - SQL injection prevention - Cross-site scripting (XSS) prevention - Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection - Rate limiting on API endpoints

4.4 Scalability

REQ-SCALE-001: The system SHALL support horizontal scaling: - Stateless service design - Distributed caching support - Load balancing across multiple instances - Database connection pooling

REQ-SCALE-002: The system SHALL handle growth: - Support for 100,000+ products - 10,000+ bookings per day - Multiple supplier integrations simultaneously - International markets and currencies

4.5 Maintainability

REQ-MAINT-001: The system SHALL support multiple suppliers: - Pluggable supplier integration architecture - Supplier-specific configuration - Isolated supplier failures - Independent supplier updates

REQ-MAINT-002: The system SHALL provide diagnostic capabilities: - Detailed error logging - Transaction tracing - Performance monitoring - Health check endpoints

REQ-MAINT-003: The system SHALL support configuration management: - External configuration files - No code changes for configuration updates - Environment-specific configurations - Configuration validation

4.6 Usability

REQ-USE-001: The booking process SHALL be intuitive: - Clear step-by-step workflow - Progress indicators - Helpful error messages - Inline validation

REQ-USE-002: The system SHALL provide user guidance: - Tooltips for complex fields - Help text for policies - Contact support options - FAQ integration

REQ-USE-003: The system SHALL be accessible: - WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance - Screen reader compatibility - Keyboard navigation support - Responsive design for mobile devices


5. Data Requirements

5.1 Data Retention

REQ-DATA-001: The system SHALL retain booking data: - Active bookings: indefinitely - Completed bookings: minimum 7 years - Cancelled bookings: minimum 3 years - Failed requests: minimum 90 days

REQ-DATA-002: The system SHALL archive old data: - Automated archival of aged data - Archived data retrievable on demand - Archived data excluded from regular queries

5.2 Data Backup

REQ-DATA-003: The system SHALL backup data: - Daily incremental backups - Weekly full backups - Offsite backup storage - Recovery time objective: 4 hours - Recovery point objective: 24 hours

5.3 Data Privacy

REQ-DATA-004: The system SHALL comply with privacy regulations: - GDPR compliance for European customers - Data subject access rights - Right to erasure (with legal exceptions) - Data portability - Consent management

REQ-DATA-005: The system SHALL anonymize data: - Personal data in archived bookings - Analytics and reporting data - Test and development environments


6. Integration Requirements

6.1 Supplier Integration

REQ-INT-001: The system SHALL integrate with third-party suppliers via: - RESTful APIs (preferred) - SOAP web services - XML-based protocols - Supplier-specific formats

REQ-INT-002: The system SHALL support supplier-specific features: - Custom authentication mechanisms - Proprietary data formats - Supplier-specific business rules - Variable field mappings

REQ-INT-003: The system SHALL handle supplier differences: - Varying availability response formats - Different pricing structures - Diverse booking confirmation processes - Inconsistent error handling

6.2 Platform Integration

REQ-INT-004: The system SHALL integrate with platform components: - Customer management system - Shopping cart and checkout - Payment processing - Order management - Email notification service - Document generation service

REQ-INT-005: The system SHALL expose APIs for: - Product search and retrieval - Availability checking - Pricing requests - Booking creation and management - Status queries

REQ-INT-006: The system SHALL provide standardized responses: - Consistent error codes - Structured data formats (JSON) - Comprehensive error messages - Pagination support

6.3 External Services

REQ-INT-007: The system SHALL integrate with external services: - Email delivery services - SMS gateway (optional) - Payment gateways - Currency conversion services - Document generation (PDF)


7. User Interface Requirements

7.1 Product Browsing Interface

REQ-UI-001: The product browsing interface SHALL provide: - Category navigation - Product grid or list views - Product thumbnails and key information - Sorting options (price, popularity, rating) - Filtering by attributes

7.2 Product Detail Interface

REQ-UI-002: The product detail interface SHALL display: - Complete product information - Image gallery with zoom - Attribute selection controls - Date picker for service date - Passenger count selectors - Real-time pricing display - Availability indicators - Add to cart functionality

7.3 Booking Configuration Interface

REQ-UI-003: The booking configuration interface SHALL include: - Dropdown selectors for attributes - Dependent attribute filtering - Time slot selection - Dynamic price calculation - Availability status messages - Required field indicators - Validation error messages

7.4 Checkout Interface

REQ-UI-004: The checkout interface SHALL collect: - Customer contact information - Passenger details - Special requirements - Pickup location (when required) - Terms acceptance - Payment information

7.5 Booking Management Interface

REQ-UI-005: The booking management interface SHALL provide: - Booking summary display - Ticket/voucher download - Cancellation request form - Amendment request form - Contact support options

7.6 Administrative Interface

REQ-UI-006: The administrative interface SHALL provide: - Booking search and filter - Booking detail view - Status management - Customer communication tools - Reporting dashboards - Supplier configuration


8. Constraints and Assumptions

8.1 Technical Constraints

CONST-001: The system SHALL be implemented on the existing platform technology stack.

CONST-002: The system SHALL use the existing database infrastructure.

CONST-003: The system SHALL integrate with existing authentication and authorization systems.

8.2 Business Constraints

CONST-004: The system SHALL comply with supplier contract terms and conditions.

CONST-005: The system SHALL support supplier commission and pricing rules.

CONST-006: The system SHALL respect supplier booking windows and restrictions.

8.3 Assumptions

ASSUM-001: Suppliers provide accurate and timely availability information.

ASSUM-002: Supplier APIs are reasonably stable and documented.

ASSUM-003: Network connectivity to supplier systems is generally reliable.

ASSUM-004: Customers have access to email for ticket delivery.


9. Future Enhancements

The following features are not included in the current scope but may be considered for future releases:

FUT-001: Real-time supplier callback notifications for booking changes

FUT-002: Mobile application with native ticket wallet

FUT-003: Multi-language product content support

FUT-004: Dynamic packaging with other travel products

FUT-005: Loyalty program integration

FUT-006: Customer review and rating system

FUT-007: Advanced recommendation engine

FUT-008: Group booking management

FUT-009: Supplier performance analytics dashboard

FUT-010: Machine learning for demand forecasting


Document Information

Document Version: 1.0 Date: 2025-11-23 Status: Approved Author: System Architecture Team Reviewers: Product Management, Development Team