Visual Check-list + Cheat-sheet

Recently we started working with a new client on their small cell projects. We are lucky to be one of the few vendors in the region who has substantial number of small cell deployment (100+) under belt. Despite having a established form, we took a little different approach for Site Survey check-list. Instead of a traditional form we opted for a visual check-list, that can also work as a cheat-sheet. Main goal was to reduce the learning curve, and have the document work as a visual mnemonic apparatus.

The form shows all the different components in the system, how they are tied together, with fields for locations, distances, etc. When we trained our guys on it, they seem to pick it up pretty quickly. In the long run, they may have the whole block-diagram memorized; but for the time being this appears to be a pretty effective teaching tool, as well as data collection and dissemination tool. Let the visual elements replace the boring words!
Check out some snapshots below:

Quality DAS Design Proposal

It's hard to write a blog post on quality for DAS business, because quality is essential for all aspects of DAS business, starting from the way we deal with client, expectation management, site survey, design, installation, project management, commissioning, close-out package and even troubleshooting. This post just focuses on DAS engineering package we submit to our clients.

DAS engineering has to be functional, practical and sensible - and these features are the bedrock of quality engineering package. However, 'quality' goes beyond these - and this is where we incorporate and employ design principles and creativity. Deliverable from Design group should focus on clarity and simplicity, should exude care - not sloppiness.

So, essentially there are 3 areas to focus:
1. Engineering
2. Content
3. Format

Engineering: 
Optimum design. Maximize coverage and capacity with fewest RF elements. Design that we can defend and champion.

Quality engineering starts with quality site survey. Determine the proper coverage objectives, and if there is any future expansion plan. This can be tricky given the fact that client wants keep the budget to a minimum most of the time, and does not want to think about the future expansion. Just do the best you can.

Collect pertinent and value-added data during site survey. It's pretty common for vendors to do a half-baked survey, design the DAS with a lot of assumptions which need to be field verified during construction. This opens up door for change order which can be quite vexing for the client. We try to do a thorough survey to minimize or eliminate surprises - this allows our installers to go prepared. We have site-survey checklist that our engineers use to make sure they have covered all bases.

Verbiage: 
This is a dialog between your client and you at your absence. Our words are representing us.
Proposal content has to be clear and easy to understand. One of the aspects of DAS proposal is people from different background read it - engineering, project management, sales, and sometimes the end-customer. So content (i.e., text) has to be crafted in a way so that it is clear and add value to people from various disciplines.

Format: 
Format has to promote clarity of design. It has to be clear and easy to understand.
Apply contextual help for clarity and understanding. This means insert comments in the design so that a reviewer is not going back and forth to understand any part of the design.
Apply different shades and colors of font. If you are using a lot of comments, then keep the main comments little darker than the details - so that readers can differentiate and also document does not appear to be full of clutter.
Proper usage of font size, type, and line spacing can contribute towards a crisp format. We even read on the latest trend on typography and find out what kind of font type, size, color and line-spacing deemed most conducive to comprehension of a topic (see this interesting article).
Use easy-to-understand block diagrams that can clarify a complex design.
Format should also be easy for installers and integrator to understand. Even helpful during troubleshooting.

Productivity

As a small company, it is important for our Design Team to stay productive. Generate quality proposals fast and a lot of them; because these proposals essentially establish the life-line of our revenue.

Well balanced and consistent productivity is a fruit of the culture of execution. This is where we struggle to keep up. Most difficult aspect of an execution oriented culture had been creating a "cadence of accountability". We have taken a few steps in the right direction and we are already seeing some improvement. These steps include:

1. Weekly Planning Call on Monday morning (less than an hour)
2. Daily Design Call by 9 AM (15-30 minutes)
3. Friday focus: Weekly Team Productivity Evaluation (less than hour)
4. Daily short reports from team on their progress (what has been completed and next steps)

Key lessons from "The 4 Disciplines of Execution" and our G.P.Q.

(Source: McChesney, Chris; Covey, Sean; Huling, Jim (2012-04-24). The 4 Disciplines of Execution. Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

Discipline 1: Focus on the Wildly Important. 

This discipline requires you to go against your basic wiring as a leader and focus on less so that your team can achieve more.

Discipline 2: Act on the Lead Measures

Lead measures are quite different in that they are the measures of the most high-impact things your team must do to reach the goal. A good lead measure has two basic characteristics: It’s predictive of achieving the goal and it can be influenced by the team members.

Discipline 3: Keep a Compelling Scoreboard - discipline of engagement. 

In principle, the highest level of performance always comes from people who are emotionally engaged and the highest level of engagement comes from knowing the score— that is, if people know whether they are winning or losing. It’s that simple... It must be simple, so simple that members of the team can determine instantly if they are winning or losing.

Discipline 4: Create a Cadence of Accountability
This is where execution really happens. The cadence of accountability is a rhythm of regular and frequent meetings of any team that owns a wildly important goal. These meetings happen at least weekly and ideally last no more than twenty to thirty minutes. In that brief time, team members hold each other accountable for producing results, despite the whirlwind.

For our Design Team, we have narrowed our focus on 3 areas:

1. Growth (i.e. professional growth of individual)
2. Productivity, and
3. Quality

Affectionately called GPQ. It would probably be more in line with the recommendation of the authors if we could narrow it down to even fewer priorities (i.e., just one), but after much consideration we have realized these 3 areas are inter-related and integral for our survival in DAS business. 

Lean Cognux Service Engineering and Foundation of Hassle-Free Experience

For lack of my knowledge of any similar existing concept, I am naming this process Lean CognUX Service Engineering. Basically it has 3 parts:

1. Develop processes by applying Lean Principles to maximize effectiveness, improve quality of deliverable, and drive down cost.
2. Apply Design Principles to create a simple and elegant experience and delight the users. 
3. Apply Cognitive Science to improve user acceptance of the process and experience by nudging users to desired direction.

Whenever you are coming up with a new process, you are basically introducing a CHANGE.  When it comes to Change we need to consider Rider and the Elephant  as mentioned in “Switch” by Dan and Chip Heath.

• Direct the “Rider” (i.e., the logical and analytical part of us) by studying the bright spots and replicate;
• Motivate the “Elephant” (i.e., the emotional part of us) by using use emotional levers
• Shape the Path by making change easy with both the Elephant and Rider working in unison.

Foundation of Hassle-Free or Effortless Experience is this new kind of Service Engineering.

Hassle-free Experience

At On Air, we offer hassle-free experience to our customer. We just happened to be in DAS business.

Spray-on Antenna: Fact or Fiction?

I fantasized of using spray-on antenna for DAS world, by starting a business of those motivational posters you see hung in the offices (see one sample below); but in reality, it would be an indoor antenna. If nothing else, I can probably spray it on my balding head and become a human antenna.

But my excitement has slowly fizzled. It's been almost a year, and haven't really seen any spray-on antenna. Back in February of 2012, Chamtech stirred up RF community (at least me) with a claim of developing spray-on antenna, it said was more lightweight and energy-efficient than current technology. The antenna can be "painted" onto almost anything, including trees, walls and fabrics. Anthony Sutera, CEO of Chamtech, even presented this at Google's inaugural "Solve for X" shindig.

Managing a Large Scale DAS Deployment - Post 1

The concept of Iron Triangle comes from the field of Project Management. Iron Triangle "is a model of the constraints of project management. It is often used to illustrate that project management success is measured by the project team's ability to manage the project, so that the expected results are produced while managing time and cost." (Source: Wikipedia)

From deployment perspective, in DAS Project Management, there is also an Iron Triangle. They are:

1. Design & Optimization, 
2. Materials, and 
3. A&C (Access & Communications)

These 3 are the most crucial factors for DAS deployment. If any of these 3 factors are compromised your project can be in jeopardy. In the next few weeks I will write about managing a large scale DAS project, what kind of problems you may face and how to resolve them.

Can Security Solutions be part of DAS components?

AT&T Mobility's CEO Ralph de la Vega recently announced that it can maximize the wireless platform for new revenue growth and is focusing on four key products and services. One of those products is AT&T's Digital Life home security and automation service, which AT&T plans to launch commercially in early 2013. Interesting aspect to me was that it is part of a wireless platform offering. Being in the DAS industry, I started thinking if security solutions can be part of DAS.

DAS Project Portal

A DAS project is often a collaboration of multiple parties - site surveyors, designers and engineers, integrator  cable  and equipment vendors, client project managers, end-user project stake holders, etc.
A common work-space can help this kind of collaborative environment tremendously. A place to post updates, schedules, upload common documents, project notes, pictures, issues, etc.
We created DAS project portal with this goal.

It takes less than a minute to start a username and password protected simple project portal.
Well organized, easy to navigate.
Available from field or office, laptop as well as smart phones.
One of the cool features is the sharing feature. Easy to share between multiple users at multiple organization(s). You can share the whole project (with all the text, pictures, files) really easily by sending a e-mail notification. And if you just want to share a single file instead of the whole project portal, it's just as easy.  

After the break check out a few snapshots of one such project portal.

Power Plant 101 for DAS

Not all of us in DAS have to deal with power plants, but having some basic knowledge does not hurt. That's the purpose of this post - a basic, high level summary of how a power plant for DAS or BTS head-end works.

Google adds Indoor Maps

Over 10,000 floor plans of selected locations are available in Google Maps across 9 different countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, the U.S., Sweden, and Switzerland. Check out indoor maps availability on your desktop. "Simply zoom in on a building on Google Maps and you’ll automatically see a detailed floor plan with helpful labels for gates at the airport, stores within the mall, departments within a retail shop, as well as ATMs, restrooms and more." (Google Post)

How accurate are these? Let's just say I could not find Chili's on this floor plan :)

You can add your floor plans to Google Maps here. As DAS engineers and project managers we get to see a lot of floor plans daily. However, not sure what kind of privacy clause will we fall under. So I don't see myself uploading any floor plans any time soon. Despite the limited number of floor plans and upload issues I don't need to explain why this is a good news for DAS designers and engineers.

Memoto Lifelogging Camera

Memoto camera is a tiny, automatic wearable camera that gives you a searchable and share-able photographic memory. You will find the features very interesting and exciting. Still in funding stage, you can check out the Kickstarter page.

So how can it add any value in DAS?

Mobile App Wishlist: Signal on floor plan

Android Tablet

I want an app that allows me to capture signal strength and signal quality data right on the floor plan during my site survey. Yes, there are Drive Test Wireless Network Optimization Tool out there (E6474A from JDSU for example) that can do what I am wishing for and lot more (and we definitely have need for them); but I am not looking for a Mercedes to go for shopping when a Toyota Corolla will do. With Android app and tablet (not iPAD), I think this is relatively "easily" possible. Let me qualify "easily". I am not an Android programmer, but searching through the Android Developer's Library I see quite a few ready-made, albiet basic commands (Public Constructors and Methods in Android jargon) that can be integrated in Android apps. These commands cover CDMA, GSM, UMTS, etc. It's not a comprehensive list, and neither are all the parametrs in DAS are available in this library. But there are enough to create a floor plan with signal readings (see a list of commands after the break).

A letter to the Team

Here is an email went out to a team within our company. Posting it for future reference:

Gentlemen,
On 11/6/12, you accepted this mission of submitting 39 COPs by 11/12/12, 7 more ISD COPs by 11/9/12, and 6-7 more COPs by 11/12/12. Please ration your time well, and plan ahead, and work as a team to get this completed. If you have to work through the weekend, prepare yourself to do that.

What does working as a team mean?

1. If your team does not reach the goal, you did NOT reach it. It does not matter what you did.
2. Does that mean you will be penalized for working harder and pulling more weight? No. Not if you hold your team accountable. All work is divided. If you are done with your part, help your team-mate - but at the same time hold him accountable (i.e., "You were supposed to do this....")
3. Be a leader and provide leadership. Title does not make a leader. What this means is plan by looking at the goal; if you have to change plans, talk to the team, replan, regroup. If your team does not listen to you, that means either the plan was bad, or you were not convincing enough. 
4. Respect each other. This is constant in any effort - if I have to explain this, I need to talk to your mother.