Maintaining accuracy in data-viz – Ito World and Frankie

Ito World thinks a great deal about how we get from A to B. As developer of ‘smart transport’ systems Transit Data and Ito Motion, it helps clients like Google, Transport for London and Vodafone solve transportation challenges across the globe for millions of travellers.

The systems are built around the delivery of real-time, accurate public transit data. Using this information, Ito World’s clients carve a path through the world’s most populated cities – a digital guide weaving its way through intricately complex infrastructure.

To communicate this data, Ito World needs to first visualize it. That means turning reams of complex information into striking, instantly understandable visualizations. It’s here that Frankie plays an indispensable role in the Ito World pipeline.

Using Frankie’s web based remote review and collaboration tools, Ito World eases communication between its design team and clients across the world, helping each project get from A to B as easily as their customers.

Building relationships

“We’ve been using Frankie for just over a year, and we’re finding it incredibly useful,” begins Hal Bertram, chief technology officer at Ito World. “Before Frankie, our quality control procedures were logistical pain points. We had to try and guide clients through particular files over the phone, just to discuss our thoughts or get feedback. It was not very elegant, and, notedly, left us open to potential misunderstandings.

“With Frankie, there are a number of features, from the 1:1 synchronised review sessions to the ability to markup annotations, which are not only useful but valuable in regards to our client relationships.”

Ito World’s portfolio boasts a diverse range of clients; from aspiring startups to prestigious conglomerates like Google. When working across the globe and communicating complex, intricate data gathered from numerous sources, the company needs to ensure total clarity. Frankie enables this throughout Ito’s universal network.

“The synchronised playback and live annotations are crucial. They allow us to routinely and swiftly incorporate feedback from our clients as if we were all in the same room,” says Bertram. “This creates a much smoother operation, allowing us to fully realise our clients’ briefs – from the most conceptual and abstract, to the incredibly esoteric.”

And, not only does Frankie allow for collaboration with clients across the globe, but Ito World also takes advantage of seamless communication on an internal level, streamlining teamwork with office branches in London, Cambridge, and Ipswich.

Innovating with INRIX

Although Ito World uses Frankie in all of its bespoke data visualisation endeavours, one in particular stands out – a project for INRIX’s cloud-based analytics suite ‘Roadway Analytics’.

Frankie played a fundamental role in talks with INRIX, narrowing down how to best visualise before-and-after data surrounding a specific geographical area.

“Using Frankie, we were able to discuss how to best highlight how INRIX’s technologies work; refine camera moves for sign-off; and ensure key points remained visible in the layout,” says Bertram.

On more than one occasion, data revealed unexpected or even counterintuitive trends. With Frankie on hand, the two companies were able to review multiple summaries – remotely and and in sync – discussing what might have made these trends possible. Thanks to Frankie, Ito World could establish absolute accuracy in their analysis sessions with INRIX.

“Frankie enabled us to collaboratively refine the brief, incorporating key messages we found in the data,” says Bertram. “We could then go on to visualise them in a way that made total sense.”

From A to B

Another benefit of integrating Frankie into the Ito World pipeline was speed of collaboration. Using Frankie’s visual interface, the team can call up past discussions on the fly, iterating on a much faster turnaround than other solutions offered.

“Once, while driving a client review and discussing options to visualise a specific data set, our team remembered that we had an example of a similar scenario in our previous portfolio of work,” says Bertram. “Within a couple of minutes it was available in-session for us to refer to and make live annotations on, giving the client an instant understanding of what we had in mind.”

In the world of data visualization, where every statistic matters in the formation of a grander, overarching narrative, this approach to communication is key. Using Frankie’s web-based, multi-party system, Ito World can drill down to the tiniest the detail with complete flexibility, ensuring that each and every detail is conveyed in just the manner any client requires.

“There’s really nothing else on the market which compares to the synchronous review features Frankie offers, except perhaps for Cospective’s own cineSync,” says Bertam. “It’s absolutely vital to the way we like to work.”