After the investigation, we moved towards the product business where modular design approach can be adapted. Modular design takes an advantage to make a component, in terms of functional and interface integrity, can be independently created and used in different client projects. We developed a few product ideas. Eventually, PowerArena was the selected product to be further put resources in place after long co-creation process across departments. PowerArena started as a family-brand business, and run with its independent structures.

SOLUTIONS ■

PowerArena is a product integrated with loT and AI technology that helps organizations to manage their sites and events. With the capability of deep learning video analytics, PowerArena turns sensor and camera data into real-time delivery of insights and management tools. Any abnormal activity or pattern detected can instantly trigger an alert. This technology can be applied for manufacturing, crowd management, smart city and other areas as well.

PowerArena enables timely dissemination of guest flow information across the amusement park.

PowerArena helps manufacturing customers to improve overall OEE performance, to digitize human & machine factors in real-time.

CHALLENGES ■

In the very beginning, our team intended to reuse the elements from an existing platform ,then deploy the ‘simplified’ system with clients in a particular market sector. We thought one business success can be cloned. However, it was too early to jump into solutions without defining problems and needs aimed to solve. The absence of the UX process made us waste resources in design, development, and testing process. Having the role of UX designer, I was responsible to to remind the team to stick back to our UX process as  we used to practiced in clients projects. We then went back on to the right track, benefited from the UX process, had a clear product vision and worked towards product milestones.

On top of the struggle of the product direction, our team was facing the problem of lacking communication. We all had a heavy workload for the development, but we hardly share our progress with  each other. To facilitate our team interaction, we started daily stand up for the project updates and brought up impediments that are pending to be dealt with. Regular meetings with engineers and product owners to share ideas and market insights helped us to make proper decisions.

LEARNINGS ■

It is important to be adaptable to unexpected changes, especially when you are working in a start-up. In the early stage, we only focused on addressing operational issues of the theme park industry. Later, we realized there were much market noises from the manufacturing industry and the government. Our team changed the plan in response to the market reactions. PowerArena system should be general enough for more than addressing operational issues of one specific industry. Although we went away from the original plan, the experience definitely unlocked more possibilities of products.

PowerArena attended International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Expo in Singapore.

Our team worked in a small group and we often had small talk at the coffee break. I took these opportunities to learn about what the other team members were working on. I gained the knowledge of IoT, object detection, deep learning, etc., in turn, I understood better on the constraints of development and technological possibilities. Therefore, I could make design decisions more ‘realistically’ and technically feasible within the scope of the project. Sometimes, engineers even counter-suggested a better solution from a technical point of view. Sharing domain knowledge among teammates is definitely one of the critical factors of project success.

Producing meaningful information and making data easily understandable and insightful was one of my UX challenges. It does not matter with the ways that data to be visualized and presented only, but also matter with defining what data would be useful for users to achieve their goals. We had site visits to our manufacturing clients so as to understand their operations and the pain points they were facing. We turned the findings to solutions, and visualized the data through dashboard and analysis charts. Solutions will never be perfect: we continued to prototype, iterate and re-iterate, hoping  to create a better data experience. 

RESULTS ■

WSA is an international award body that selects and promotes the world’s best digital innovations that have a positive impact on our society. Entries from over 180 member states were selected to competeMotherApp (PowerArena) represented Hong Kong and the Greater China on the global stage.

“Digital innovation does more than just make profits, but also contribute to society.” PowerArena does hold this vision tightly for every approached client.

Manufacturing: Increase overall equipment effectiveness, make operational status and machine performance be visible.

Crowd management: Enables timely collection, analysis and dissemination of people flow and wait times information for events and theme parks.

Smart city: Various applications like human behaviour recognition, people counting, traffic control, car park and waste management, etc.

■ OTHER PROJECTS ■