Technology can be anywhere, but how can it have an impact?
Technology is undoubtedly an integral part of our daily life, being present in the most basic routines from the moment we wake up until we go back to bed. Communicating with family and friends almost instantaneously, preparing for a trip and consulting information without leaving your seat, buying transport tickets and finding out information about them in real-time, being notified of an appointment, or even receiving information on how to stay hydrated are all examples of how technology impacts our lives without us even realizing it. At Ubiwhere, we also seek to impact the lives of people and cities.
It’s a given that technology will do practically everything we ask of it, but it won’t do what’s necessary if it’s not aligned with the end goal and, more importantly, if it doesn’t improve people’s quality of life.
The issue of smart cities is increasingly becoming a reality. There is a greater awareness and need to invest in technology to improve and streamline decision-making processes and provide citizens with a better quality of life and enjoyment of public spaces. At the same time, municipalities are increasingly facing complex challenges in their daily management in various areas of activity, such as mobility, the environment, tourism, and urban planning, which require an equally complex response. It is often necessary to establish a more or less direct relationship between the various areas to make the best decision, solve the problem immediately, and ensure that decisions in areas as important as these do not jeopardize long-term objectives. It is essential to provide key decision-makers with tools that promote the digitization of processes and support decision-making based on real, reliable, concrete data, such as Ubiwhere’s Urban Platform, supporting municipal decision-makers and services in making the best decisions for day-to-day operations, without losing sight of the strategic development objectives that have been defined, whether these are limited to the geography of the territory or have a broader scope, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are in vigor in many Portuguese Municipalities.
But how can we support municipalities? How do we make technology impact?
First of all, we need to realize that each territory has its socioeconomic dynamics and different stages of technological development, so any project must always consider this: “You can’t start a house by building the roof”. At Ubiwhere, too, aware of the different realities and not wanting to start with the roof over our heads, we believe it is essential to know the territory where we will operate. That’s why, before the technology kicks in, the kick-off is a visit to the territory to learn about the project, the challenges, and the objectives to be achieved.
A clear alignment of expectations with the desired result is important for a good understanding on both sides.
Once this phase is over, the technology emerges after surveying the requirements and the existing infrastructure. The challenge presented is worked on so that it can be related to the best technology-based solution. At this stage, it is crucial to have a detailed plan of what is intended to be done and achieved in the various milestones while also realizing that a project is changeable in its execution. Therefore, connecting the dots, defining the scope, planning, and foreseeing potential problems is a way to start making all the processes more agile. Transversal to all these steps is the relationship with the client. In all these phases and beyond, the client plays a decisive role in the strategic decisions that are made collaboratively, strengthening the implementation of the final solution.
This is where the execution of the work begins. At this stage, we develop the solution based on agile working methodologies. This is when the technical teams get down to work. Tasks are delegated based on the planning that has been done, which is expected to be necessary to complete the various components that make up the project. Dates are set for the various phases to be completed. This way, we can assess whether the project is running to schedule. Still, as each date approaches, validation is sought from the client to realize whether the execution is in line with initial expectations and proceed to refine certain aspects. Also, at this stage, we try to involve the various stakeholders who may be involved on the one hand to understand whether the solution being developed corresponds to the needs of future users and to start adapting to the solution, ensuring that the technology will have an impact.
Once the solution has been developed, before the project is finished and launched publicly, monitoring the solution by validating all the components produced is crucial. We, therefore, promote a simulation environment in which we try to recreate the use of the solution as if it were a real environment for end users. From here, the solution is ready to be put into the full operation. The final step is to close the project formally, validating all the deliverables with the client and guaranteeing that the solution meets the proposed challenge once the service has been provided.
This is how we at Ubiwhere ensure that the technology we produce has an impact, by working side by side with the client and constantly evaluating what we put into the field, always seeking to deliver not just the best technical solution but the one that has the most impact, as an active resource, for the creation of more intelligent territories, promoting the improvement of municipal decision-making processes and thereby providing a better quality of life for citizens.
