Design tools to plan & deploy AV infrastructure
Planning and deployment of AV infrastructure is a multi-staged detail-oriented task which usually spans from paper to non-standard CAD diagrams. This often results in a lack of alignment between stakeholders and hence loss of efficiency and time.
My work
•  Workshops with team AVDL
•  Secondary research
•  Information architecture
•  Design system & Interaction framework
•  Interactive prototyping
•  Handoff
3 stages of the process

3 stages of the AV deployment process: Sketch, Flowmap & BOM

Stage 1 • a hand 'sketch'
At this stage, a site engineer surveys the site and documents the areas, the technical objects in the areas any architectural fixtures.
Stage 2 • Signal 'flowmap'
The documented areas and technical objects are then brought together in a signal 'flowmap' in which connections are defined across them, and with a central equipment rack in most cases. Additionally, in this stage, products are specified for each of the technical objects.
Stage 3 • bill of materials
Finally, products that have been specified in the 'flowmap' for the technical objects are aggregated in a bill of materials and sent to the finance team for approvals.
Sketch Mobile App
The 'Sketch' Mobile app enables site engineers to document the areas and technical objects as the first set of requirements to plan an AV deployment.

The mobile app allows users to draw basic shapes and polygons in sketches, and add technical objects with necessary detail such as type, name, photographs of the space, voice notes and notes.

Flowmap Desktop App
The Flowmap desktop application imports and builds on data about the areas and technical objects from the uploaded sketches in a project and enables engineers to design a signal flow map which connects the equipments and the equipment rack(s).

A flowmap of a Conference room showing objects connecting with an equipment rack with cables

The flowmap details out connections between technical objects in designated areas and the equipment rack. Each of the technical objects indicate the nature of connection and the cables that form the connection.

The layers panel spells out the architecture of the signal flow to the extent of the directionality of connections.

A technical object exists either in the Areas as general objects or in the equipment rack

The equipment rack is a custom or standard piece of hardware containing slots for the equipment to be fitted in.  On the Flowmap canvas, an equipment rack can be viewed in front or back modes to see less or more details about connection.

A set of dialog boxes which allow for a detailed and intelligent matching of technical objects and their connections

Projects are the highest level entity, and they can contain any number of sketches or flowmaps.

Print-ready Summary
An additional 'offline' method to create alignment across teams is available in the form of a summary PDF that is downloadable and print-ready. The summary presents all the aspects of the project that have been explored, ranging from the sketches to the BOM.

The cover page of the summary PDF presents the room in an isometric view with the technical objects and an index of what is contains

Areas and their technical objects are given at least one full page with clear indication of location and type of objects

A Bill of Materials is auto-generated once the products and their quantity is specified at the BOM stage

The print-ready PDF has a space for the parties to physically signoff on the particulars discussed

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