An Unanswered Question
In the new era of hybrid work, facility teams and managers faced a major blind spot: Are our people actually on-site? This wasn't just an inconvenience; it was a costly business problem.
The Reliability Gap
Initial solutions, like relying solely on IP address tracking, created a false sense of security. The data was incomplete and often inaccurate.
Data Distrust
Of managers reported low confidence in their existing attendance data, leading to inefficient resource planning and facility management.
The "Aha!" Moment: A Shift in Strategy
Through customer discovery, a pivotal insight emerged. The solution couldn't create more work. It needed to be frictionless and passive. A single data point would never be reliable enough.
The realisation: We needed to build a robust, seamless ecosystem of signals.
Designing the Signal Ecosystem
The new strategy moved away from a single feature and towards a network of passive data sources. Each signal reinforces the others to create a single, highly reliable source of truth for occupancy.
MDM Integration
Identifies when a device connects to the organisation's network, providing a high-confidence signal of presence.
Door Access Control
Captures data from keycard swipes, providing a definitive, time-stamped record of building entry.
Push Notifications
Increases engagement and the reliability of IP detection for mobile users, adding another layer of data.
A Single Source of Truth
Combining these passive signals provides administrators with a highly accurate, real-time view of on-site presence with zero extra effort.
The Impact: A Clear Path Forward
A Strategic Roadmap
The outcome was a clear, strategic roadmap for the new occupancy tracking theme. It prioritised development based on value and dependencies, providing a reliable path to solving a complex problem without requiring new hardware investments.
Phase 1: Core MDM Integration for foundational device tracking.
Phase 2: Develop Door Access Control API for entry data.
Phase 3: Enhance Push Notification system to complete the ecosystem.
Projected Accuracy
The multi-signal approach is projected to increase the accuracy of presence detection to over 95%, turning a liability into a strategic advantage.
Key Reflection
This project was a powerful lesson in zooming out. By focusing on the core user problem: "how can I reliably verify presence with no extra effort?" I was able to design a strategic, long-term solution that provided real value and positioned the product for future growth.