Mobile Strategies, PIOs, Optimized Intersections and Patterns of Life, Part 1

Several weeks ago I introduced, in an article on this site, the concepts of PIOs (performance impact objects) and PIVs (performance impact variables) and their role in managing a mobile workforce.  Today, I want to expand upon the concept of PIOs and introduce two additional concepts, 1) optimized intersections, and 2) an emerging concept from the intelligence community called "patterns of life." We will then explore how these can be useful to an enterprise seeking to maximize efficiencies and the value of their enterprise mobility solutions.

Click to enlarge

Let's first review some examples of PIOs.

• People
• Parts/Supplies/Materials
• Tools
• Job/work locations
• Equipment
• Transportation
• Vendors
• Subcontractors
• Jobsite access
• Permits/Approvals

For any particular job, the required PIOs must all come together at the right time and place (read 4D Field Services) in order to optimize your productivity and efficiencies (see image).  The optimized intersection is where all of these items come together in the most optimal manner.

To optimize your productivity, you can employ enterprise mobility solutions, GPS tracking devices, M2M solutions, real-time business intelligence and shared dynamic schedules that will continually estimate the "optimized intersection" for each job.

One of the challenges with implementing these kinds of "real-time" capabilities is that they often involve third parties.  Most often you do not have full control of the technology solutions that your vendors, suppliers and subcontractors use.  So how does an enterprise actually implement this strategy?

Utilizing HTML5 mobile applications on smartphones with GPS tracking and date and time capturing capabilities are a big step in the right direction.  Integrate these HTML5 apps with your "optimized intersection" and dynamic scheduling capabilities and you are making big progress.

Why HTML5?  Pure HTML5 mobile apps will allow you to support the widest number of mobile devices in the most efficient manner possible.  Especially if you want your third party subcontractors and vendors to use your mobile apps on their smartphones so they can participate in your "optimized intersection" solution.

In Part 2 of this article we introduce the concept of "patterns of life" and how it relates to enterprise mobility.

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile Industry Analyst, Consultant and SAP Mentor Volunteer

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Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.