The same question always comes up around Maximo Anywhere mobile projects, “Which is the best strategy for implementation?”  

Starting the conversations between functional and technical teams is essential for success. If you follow one of the standard implementation strategies (Phased, Big Bang etc.) and tune into the client side, requirements and decisions will follow.
Selecting a strategy always depends on the project priorities. For me, safety is critical which is why I usually recommend and follow a Phased approach. It may take longer but it reduces the risks. Let’s see a simple project lifecycle based on this strategy.

Planning, Design

Demos, workshops…
You need to design a roadmap based on target business processes. This shows how you will achieve the TO-BE state starting from the current AS-IS state. In this instance using a standard approach: step by step covering existing Maximo (desktop front-end) business processes by mobile apps. The Maximo Anywhere schema fits to this implementation method as it has individual role-based applications which can cover process steps.

As documentation output, we have meeting memos with task lists, functions, and technical level design documentations.

Realization

Configurations, developments, unit tests…
This is the most extensive part. There are a lot of technologies integrations involved such as IBM Worklight – Anywhere, Apple iOS, Google Android, Microsoft Windows mobile development portals.

As documentation output, I usually provide a technical level documentation about setups, integrations, developments, and configurations.

Testing

Integration and process tests, standard procedures…
This is the most important phase as it ensures that the solution works as expected. The solution is based on several integration and technologies and the standard anywhere code could be extended or modified, so you need to cover all possible scenarios.

Training

Lab training, pocket guides….
This is the most rewarding part based on my experiences. You get to see the users enjoy and realizing the capabilities of the new apps. The presentation, training and pocket guides are based on testing documentation, below you can see example pages of my latest pocket guide from an Anywhere implementation project:

Support

I am continuously gathering feedback and operation and utilization reports to improve Anywhere solution performance, then defining actions and re-designing.
In my next blog post, I’ll talk look at how to customize Maximo Anywhere applications… useful if the standard product doesn’t fit!