Data Visualization - Real-time Visibility and Mobile Data

You’ve heard it said a thousand times “A picture is worth a 1000 words”. 

Cliché?  Probably more often than not, but this weekend this saying really hit home.  Some of my buddies we’re hunting in the mountains of Idaho when they got lost.  

Yes they had a mobile GPS device that gave them their GPS coordinates but they had no map to determine the direction they should go. To make things worse the smoke from nearby fires was so thick they couldn’t see notable landmarks to get a bearing. They were so remote the only other communication method they had was a satellite phone.

Yes they had data but they had no way to interpret or visualize the data to make a decision in the field.

This is a critical point in the utilization of mobile apps. Providing data is not enough. The key is presenting real time data in a visualization layer that provides REAL meaning to the user.

If my hunter friends had a mobile device that incorporated GPS coordinates with topographical maps and a compass they would have easily been able to reestablish their position and decide on the best path to safety. Instead they were stranded with limited data and had to call for outside help using a satellite phone to have someone interpret the data and provide the information needed to get back to base camp safely. Yes they had data, but the data was irrelevant without some way to visualize or interpret the meaning of the data. It was comparable to having a “You Are Here” map with no other information than a dot.

With limited interpretable data my hunter friends could not act independently. They had to call in for guidance from those at home base that had better tools to ascertain the best route forward. The support crew back home were in a key position to evaluate the hunters known GPS location against on-line topographical maps, fire information gleaned from the Idaho Fish & Game websites, deciding which fellow hunter could most quickly get to their area if needed and provide instructions to the lost hunters.

Mobile Data Visualization

Many companies are implementing mobile solutions in the same way.   They provide a smattering of information without providing the ancillary data. Mobile reps are thus forced to rely on the home office to help make decision.  Armed with interpretable data mobile reps and managers can act immediately. Further, they can see data connections and patterns that matter. 

In fully integrated mobile solutions mobile data from field personnel can update corporate systems immediately. With a continual flow of interpretable data senior managers are in a position to see the bigger picture and can identify resource gaps, reallocate personnel, analyzing trends, identify shrinking inventories and much more.  The speed to manage and make decisions is exponentially increased as managers not only have data but they have the ancillary data that is instantaneously understandable enabling them to make the right decision for their customers, staff and company

Some industries are incorporating data visualization in unique ways. Here are a couple of examples

Natural Gas Industry – Tank Inspections: 
The team at Zenware has been developing some interesting mobile data visualizations components for the Natural Gas Industry.  Color based prioritization enables field reps to at a glance ascertain the priority level of preventive maintenance calls that need to be included in their weekly visits; Red current day, Yellow within 3 days, Brown within 7 days and White within 30 days.  These priority levels are set systematically based on the current date. This allows field crews to manage work autonomously. Managers are empowered because not only do they have management tools that enable them to adjust priority schedules they also have a graphical display of region that includes real-time location of personnel, natural gas tanks in the area, last sites visited and related color coded priority levels. I think of it as “follow the dots” taken to the next level.

Automotive Industry – PDR (Paintless Dent Repair)

Enterprise mobile solutions combined with data visualization tools are majorly impacting companies that provide new car prep and other auto detailing services to automotive dealerships.  Complete mobile ERP solutions are not only helping manage mobile service employees and service tickets, but also providing CEOs and CFOs a real time view into the current health of the company.

Data visualization tools are presenting mobile generated data in a visually rich manner to show profitability of regions, stores, managers even a look into the efficiency and profitability of a specific employee. Company leaders can instantaneously evaluate gross margins on every service offered, identify product lines that are diminishing or increasing in sales, valuate efficiencies of team members based on time spent on each project and more. Visually rich data presentation is providing the mechanism to drill down to the minute details helping companies fine-tune every aspect of their business.

Mobile data visualization is critical for all industry sectors. The ability for company leaders to quickly visualize, interpret and act on data patterns can significantly impact business. Gone are the days of culling through Excel sheets. Businesses that are implementing data visualization tools into their mobile applications are seeing significant improvements in customer management, inventory management, customer satisfaction, increased productivity and more.

Remember data is meaningless without context. Question is can you see clearly what your data is telling you?

Some Interesting presentations on Data Visualization

David McCandless: The beauty of data visualization http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLqjQ55tz-U

Hans Rosling: No More boring Data

http://youtu.be/hVimVzgtD6w

Jody Sedrick

Enterprise Mobility Strategist, Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

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Zenware

Shopping Lists Just Got Smarter with GPS Notifications

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For the past couple of weeks my team has been working on a brand new iPhone application for a client. The premise behind the application is to remind you that you have a shopping list not based on time, but rather based on your location.

The app is ideal for the busy mom, student or professional who is out and about.

The application works like this:

1. Create a shopping list.
   Your list can be for groceries, hardware supplies, electronics what ever.
2. Assign items to a store
   As you add an item to the list you can assign it to a store. The app provides built-in integration Google Maps enabling you to search for stores by name based on your current location.
3. Conduct business as usual
   Drive around town as you would normally through the day. The app doesn't even have to be initiated as it works in the background. When you are in the vicinity of a store that has assigned shopping items a visual and audio alert will inform you that you are in the vicinity of the store and ask you to open or ignore your list.

It's really that simple. The application is fully location aware based on the GeoFence parameters that you configure in the settings. Now when you are within 1 mile, 1/2 mile or even in the parking lot you can be notified that you have a shopping list.

We are now exploring other ways that we can incorporate this into this other applications. Imagine what could be done with:

1. Location based marketing based on your shopping list
2. Field Service notifications - accept or reject a new job based on where I am
3. Notify customers of the pending arrival of a technician based on their location
4. Initiate time tracking based on a technician's arrival or departure on a site.
5. Show other customers in my current area

With location based services integrated into your shopping list you can now say like one of the first users, "You just made my smartphone a little smarter."

Jody Sedrick

Enterprise Mobility Strategist, Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

LinkedIn Profile 
Zenware

Why are you going mobile?

This week I had a great meeting with a new customer that is looking to build a really cool enterprise mobile application for the lighting industry. Meeting with them was refreshing as they obviously had invested serious time thinking through the mobile application, end-user requirements, backend integration and reporting requirements. This is unusual in that most of the customers come to with an idea for a mobile app but haven't really through through the business application.

My experience with them motivated me to share some enterprise mobility guidelines we walk through with our customers.

First Question: What is your goal in "Going Mobile"? Or better yet, WHY go mobile?

Obvious as this questions seems, it is the foundation of your success. But many companies are on their 2nd, 3rd even 4th mobile implementation because they didn't understand the "why" of going mobile. If a customer understands the "why" of going mobile their success rate  increase exponentially.  Some example goals and the "whys" brought to us to date

• Improve responsiveness to customers.
  This is really a goal. It's a result of good systems. Why do you want to improve responsiveness to customers? Have you struggled in this area? Have you identified the bottlenecks? What does it mean if you are successful?
• Providing mobile access to existing applications in the field to improve field worker productivity
  When I hear this I ask, "why is it important for field workers to have this data?" Does it enable the customer to make a decision now? Does it enable the field worker to guide decisions of the customer? Does it enable the service tech to offer the service now?
• Improve operational efficiencies both in the field and back end
  Again this is a goal. What is the cause of operational inefficiencies? Where are the bottlenecks? If I can eliminate those bottlenecks how does this affect serving my customers? How does it improve invoicing cycles? What reports now become available to help managers/sales people more effectively drive business.
• Expedite the invoicing process
  The why on this is clear as every business wants to keep cash flow moving in a positive direction so they can grow their business.
• Proof of service completion and acceptance
  Why? - A business wants to confidently demonstrate  service was completed or accepted.

Once you understand the "whys" of going mobile you can can establish the goals that will help you determine the right mobile strategy.  Most companies today deploy mobile applications in opportunistic business silos. While this approach can serve as a proving ground for mobile solutions it also can create a situation where mobile solutions become limited in scope, disjointed, invite technology disparity and are not scalable.

Businesses need to consider the overall mobility requirements within an organization and develop a long-term strategy that supports these goals then develop rollout strategies and pilots that align with the long-term strategy. Businesses tend to initially evaluate mobile solutions from the perspective of the field worker. But mobility needs assessments need to consider the entire business process and infrastructure considering every component including:

• Customer experience; Do customers interact with the device? A customer might review a service ticket or to provide a digital signature
• Field worker: what is the business process in the field? What data is required to help the technician or customer make a decision? Is mobile printing required? GPS -Do you need to know where your workers are or do they need help finding customer locations
• What kind of PDA device? Smartphone? Rugged PDA? Customer and field worker needs will drive device selection
• Back end integration: what accounting or corporate database systems need to be integrated with?
• Management and Executive Management: Considerations may inclue reporting, management evaluation and / or approval processes
• IT Support - what is required from the IT department? What device and connectivity standards have been set?
• Security policies

I find companies are on track when they've carefully considered these areas as well as come conclusions on the following:

• They have identified specific business processes that will significantly benefit mobile technology and why those are important
• Individual or departmental mobile projects are implemented with the overall business goals in mind. "Smaller" mobile projects can integrate with the enterprise mobile management, infrastructure and security policies.
• Common software, cloud based solutions or middleware mobile solutions are implemented across the organization.
• Implementation of device policies whether they be BYOD or corporate sponsored are clear and enforceable
• Projects are managed and supported according to clearly defined policies

I'll take a look at deciding which mobile applications to deploy in part 2 of this article.

Jody Sedrick

Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareinc

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MEAP Nirvana? Is developing your own mobile solution wise?

For the past year I have consulted with a company that has sought to develop their own mobile solution. Early in the consulting process I recommended a cloud based mobile solution that aligned with their business model and processes. My recommendation to go with a pre-packaged solution that met 90% of their needs was primarily based on the fact that they hadn't put together a dedicated team to work on the project. Their attitude was, "A MEAP will make up for any difficiencies our developer might have in time or expertise", or "I can work on this project while traveling".

They have come to realize that while a MEAP solution provides great power to accomplish their mobility goals there are still a lot of challenges and complexities involved with developing an enterprise mobility solution that require time, evaluation, dedication and development.

A very simple example of this happened this week. The same company that decided to build their own mobile application approached us to solve some challenges they had encountered developing their own mobile app. As our team looked at the mobile solution a few simple, yet crucial, points were missed in their application design. Here are two examples:

1. Work order tables were joined on a customer name without having a unique customer ID. The result - if they changed a customer name from "Freds" to "Fred's" all ties to previous work orders would have been lost.
2. Work order numbers were not unique and could be shared between multiple customers. The result - Customer A could end up with Customer B's information. Not such a good idea.

There were other complications within their app but you can see how a few simple things can negatively impact the results of your mobile solution.  It is important to recognize there are difficulties and challenges in customer developing a mobile solution whether using a MEAP or traditional coding.

The following is a list of questions and considerations you should weigh before embarking in developing your own mobile solution:

1. Do you have dedicated resources available to gather all the business and technical requirements of your application?
2. Do you understand the business process in the field? What does the field technician need to be successful? What does the corporate side need to be successful? The key is building a mobile solution that provides the right data at the point of action.
3. Do you have and can you dedicate the right technical resources to design, develop, test, deploy and support your application?
4. Do you have experienced mobile application designers that can build intelligent business logic within the application and not simply design a great interface?
5. What mobile device options are available? What device features are required by the end user - barcode scanning, GPS, RFID or are consumer grade devices sufficient?
6. With what backend systems do you to have to integrate?

Mobility has become an integral part of business. It's no longer a "would be nice" part of your business, it is mission critical. Whether using a MEAP or traditional development methodologies the key is developing a mobile solution that can evolve as your business and mobile technology evolves.

Jody Sedrick
Follow me on Twitter: @jodysedrick and @zenewareincLinkedIn Profile