In 2021 I performed design visioning to achieve Asset Data Unification in the Maximo Application Suite and drive a common terminology, asset data dictionary, and UX experience strategy for the Maximo suite applications integration use-cases.
Objective
The objective of this user experience design aimed to identify common integration use cases across the applications on the Maximo site and to unify the integration experience.
Maximo application suite
Maximo application suite provides intelligent asset management through a set of applications for asset monitoring, asset management, predictive maintenance, and reliability planning.
The suite is a single, integrated cloud-based platform that uses AI, IoT, and analytics to optimize performance, extend asset lifecycles, and reduce operational downtime and costs.
The suite includes Manage, Monitor, Health, Predict, and Mobile applications.
Learn more about the IBM Maximo Application Suite on IBM.com.
Asset Data User Experience
A Maximo data dictionary provides a knowledge graph of the suite data and links to the application data. The Maximo data dictionary may also provide shared UX components for common use cases on the suite data and relation in the semantic graph.
The Maximo data dictionary would provide for the user experience and the backend data resulting in a common source of truth for all Maximo suite applications. Hence, an asset may appear in multiple applications, providing unique application use cases, but always reference the same asset identity in the data dictionary.
A common source of truth.
Maximo Data Unification Use-cases
Maximo suite use-cases
The common role-based use cases were identified in discovery sessions with each Maximo suite application team.
Operation Manager scenarios in Maximo Monitor
- An operations manager using Monitor can create, update, and view assets and locations in a hierarchy in order to construct logical relationships and associate operational data derived from sensors when Manage is not present.
- An operations manager using Monitor can view assets and locations in a hierarchy in order to construct logical relationships and associate operational data derived from sensors when Manage is present.
- An operations manager using Monitor can immediately identify an existing asset in the Manage database when creating workflow automation to generate a service request.
Maintenance Manager scenarios in Maximo Manage
- A maintenance manager reviewing a service request that was generated as a result of workflow automation in Monitor, can access operational data and alerts (e.g., sensor) to gain insight into impacted assets and classification of failure.
- A maintenance manager can map an asset to a summarized/calculated value to be used for condition monitoring.
Reliability Manager scenarios in Maximo Health
- A reliability engineer using Maximo Health can view the historical time-series data related to a health score of an asset generated from operational data in Maximo Monitor in order to gain insights into trends and anomalies.
- A reliability engineer can define a health score for an asset or location using summarized/calculated values from Maximo Monitor, and/or populated values from a manual inspection.
- A reliability engineer can view the condition monitoring rules for an asset based on summarized/calculated values, and/or populated values from a manual inspection.
- A data scientist using Maximo Predict can view additional time-series data, add as contributors to predictive models, and evaluate improved model quality.
Data Dictionary experience requirements
From the use cases above we can derive data dictionary user experience requirements.
Maximo Manage
- Link measured and calculated data to asset and location meters.
- Create and link calculated data to asset and location meters.
- Access linked measured and calculated data.
Maximo Monitor
- Add | View | Update assets and locations.
- Add | View | Update asset and location types.
- Add | View | Update asset and location attributes.
- Add | View | Update asset and location relations.
- Add | View systems.
- Add | View | Update | Delete data items..
- Add | View a work order.
Maximo Visual Inspection
- Add | View | Update | Delete inspection record
- Traceability from inspection data to inspection artifacts
- Add an inspection result to an asset
- View model quality data
- View model feedback data
Maximo Mobile
- View asset data
- Traceability from a work order to view alert and failure class
- Traceability from a work order to view asset data
- Traceability from a work order to view anomaly data
Maximo Health and Predict
- View asset and location data
- Create calculated data
- Create | Update | Delete prediction group
- Create | Delete prediction model
- Create | Update model with asset and location data
Data Dictionary experience design patterns
From the use cases above we can make a few conceptual assumptions. The artifact in the use cases can be generalized using the data dictionary abstract information model. We derived the core data dictionary UX patterns.
- View artifacts
- Select (and link) one or more artifacts
- Navigate to an artifacts
- Add (and link) an artifact
To achieve these generalizations the UX components of the data dictionary need to delegate the implementation to the provider of an artifact. The data provider of the artifact can be generalized using the data dictionary application extensions.
- Maximo Manage will be a provider for assets and workorders. Maximo Monitor will be a provider of data items.
- The data dictionary should provide a default implementation to support the UX patterns for abstract model artifacts. Such an implementation will use available application-specific APIs to achieve the use case.
- Each artifact provider may (optionally) support the core UX use cases for its artifacts and deliver a richer (delegated) experience based on the application’s richer data model and semantics.
- UX components are provided as dialogs and pages for web and mobile screen sizes.
UX Patterns
View Artifacts
The VIEW use-case provides a dialog or page
- List artifacts in a tabular form
- Apply column filters
- Apply search filter
- Show artifacts with metadata in Detail mode
- Cancel and close the page
UX pattern for viewing a list of artifacts.
UX pattern for viewing a list of artifacts.
UX pattern for viewing a hierarchy of artifacts.
Select Artifacts
The SELECT use-case provides a dialog or page
- Extends the VIEW design
- List artifacts in a tabular form
- Apply column filters
- Apply search filter
- Add row selection to the list view
- Show artifacts with metadata in Detail mode
- Add action to close the page and return the selection.
- Cancel and close the page.
UX pattern for selecting one or more artifacts.
Optional UX pattern to view artifact details when selecting.
UX pattern for selecting in a hierarchy of artifacts.
Add Artifacts
The ADD use-case provides a dialog or page
- Action on VIEW and SELECT page
- Default, form-based add operation, based on Data Dictionary artifact schema
- Single- or multi-page
- Add action to closes the page, delegates creation, and returns the new artifact
- Cancel and close the page
Example of delegated dialog in Maximo Monitor for adding a new data artifact
Example of delegated dialog In Maximo Monitor for adding details to a new data artifact
Work order examples
VIEW, SELECT and ADD examples for using the UX patterns with Work orders.
