Tech, Design, and Business. Mjølner UPDATE 3rd, 2014

”ALL WE NEED IS A BASIC IDEA AND ONE DEDICATED PERSON” Jørgen Mygind, Business Development Manager, TouchGFX

3rd Quarter 2014

EDITORIAL

FROM IDEA TO PRODUCT FASTER As history shows, design and software development

The service supports the LINAK brand and the company’s

is often a very complex and time-consuming task. Our

dedication to improve people’s lives.

history, however, tells us that you can create successful products without a heavy and lengthy process. For more

See pictures from our TouchGFX Live workshop at E-14,

than 25 years, we have put our diversity to work, hereby

and learn how we took clients from idea to basic prototype

ensuring both an innovative edge and a high quality of our

on embedded hardware in just five hours. In the same

clients’ products.

spirit, we bring you the service of rapid app prototyping.

We swear by an agile and iterative process with a strong

To give you your tech fix, we breach the big data buzz with

focus on trial and error. We wholeheartedly subscribe to

an article disclosing the business potentials of this tech

the saying: Fail early, fail cheaply. Our process is designed

trend. Finally, we invite you to our F# event in November

to be effective, exploratory, and lightweight.

sporting some of the absolute top experts.

In the last months, we have taken our trust in this saying to a new level and brought our proven process into new formats that can take clients from idea to product faster.

Best Regards,

Among case stories, tech trend breakdowns, and event invitations, we bring you these new formats in this issue of Mjølner UPDATE. Learn how LINAK and Mjølner have differentiated LINAK’s

UPDATE

products with a service that motivates users to strengthen

Cover Photo: Maria Holmegaard, Nicklas Lindahl,

their health.

Brian Gottorp Jeppesen, CEO

and Jesper Hedegaard, Mjølner Informatics

EDITORIAL

FROM IDEA TO PRODUCT FASTER As history shows, design and software development

The service supports the LINAK brand and the company’s

is often a very complex and time-consuming task. Our

dedication to improve people’s lives.

history, however, tells us that you can create successful products without a heavy and lengthy process. For more

See pictures from our TouchGFX Live workshop at E-14,

than 25 years, we have put our diversity to work, hereby

and learn how we took clients from idea to basic prototype

ensuring both an innovative edge and a high quality of our

on embedded hardware in just five hours. In the same

clients’ products.

spirit, we bring you the service of rapid app prototyping.

We swear by an agile and iterative process with a strong

To give you your tech fix, we breach the big data buzz with

focus on trial and error. We wholeheartedly subscribe to

an article disclosing the business potentials of this tech

the saying: Fail early, fail cheaply. Our process is designed

trend. Finally, we invite you to our F# event in November

to be effective, exploratory, and lightweight.

sporting some of the absolute top experts.

In the last months, we have taken our trust in this saying to a new level and brought our proven process into new formats that can take clients from idea to product faster.

Best Regards,

Among case stories, tech trend breakdowns, and event invitations, we bring you these new formats in this issue

of Mjølner UPDATE. Learn how LINAK and Mjølner have differentiated LINAK’s

UPDATE

products with a service that motivates users to strengthen

Cover Photo: Maria Holmegaard, Nicklas Lindahl,

their health.

Brian Gottorp Jeppesen, CEO

and Jesper Hedegaard, Mjølner Informatics

CASE

MOTIVATING DESIGN IMPROVES USER HEALTH AND BUILDS BRAND Mjølner created LINAK Desk ControlTM for LINAK. An application that builds brand awareness and motivates users to benefit fully from their height adjustable tables.

In close collaboration with LINAK, Mjølner designed and developed LINAK Desk ControlTM.

Customizable & Informational LINAK Desk Control™ is a small application for users’

LINAK is a market-leading manufacturer of linear

work computer. With personal settings, it calculates the

actuators and a close partner to Mjølner. Our latest

number of minutes you should stand up each day in order

collaboration is the LINAK Desk ControlTM application.

to achieve your desired calorie burn or ergonomic benefit.

Service & Awareness

The application then informs you when to stand up, how

LINAK faces a challenge shared by many industrial

close you are to reaching your goal, when you can sit down

companies: When delivering a single component for

again, etc.

a larger product, a company’s public identity easily disappears in the midst of brands involved. Creating

Encouragement Versus Disturbance

additional services that interact directly with end-users is

The application posed two main challenges: First, when

a great way to overcome this:

dealing with health, it is essential that calculations are

We wanted to create an application that could improve

LINAK Desk ControlTM in use

Developers, UX’ers, and designers were all in for a challenge

12 Custom Versions Already Sold

here. The project called for important decisions on many

The value of the application is clear to LINAK’s customers.

levels, and Mjølner’s ability to cooperate was central.

It builds brand awareness while integrating the use of

- Mikkel Yde Kjær, Mobile Manager, Mjølner Informatics

accurate. LINAK’s own researchers developed a complex

The Service Is the Face of Your Product

LINAK has already sold the LINAK Desk Control™

formula for that purpose.

Services that interact directly with users give you a chance

application in 12 custom versions for different suppliers of

to show the face of your brand.

height adjustable tables.

user health while emphasizing the core of our product.

Being a trusted partner, Mjølner was a natural part in

The second challenge was to create a design that

achieving this goal.

encourages users to incorporate exercise into their

LINAK presented the application at exhibitions this

workday without causing unnecessary disturbance.

summer to a very intrigued audience.

- Bjarke Thomsen, SBU Sales Manager, LINAK

their product in the daily lives of users.

Find the software at linak.com/deskline

CASE

MOTIVATING DESIGN IMPROVES USER HEALTH AND BUILDS BRAND Mjølner created LINAK Desk ControlTM for LINAK. An application that builds brand awareness and motivates users to benefit fully from their height adjustable tables.

In close collaboration with LINAK, Mjølner designed and developed LINAK Desk ControlTM.

Customizable & Informational LINAK Desk Control™ is a small application for users’

LINAK is a market-leading manufacturer of linear

work computer. With personal settings, it calculates the

actuators and a close partner to Mjølner. Our latest

number of minutes you should stand up each day in order

collaboration is the LINAK Desk ControlTM application.

to achieve your desired calorie burn or ergonomic benefit.

Service & Awareness

The application then informs you when to stand up, how

LINAK faces a challenge shared by many industrial

close you are to reaching your goal, when you can sit down

companies: When delivering a single component for

again, etc.

a larger product, a company’s public identity easily disappears in the midst of brands involved. Creating

Encouragement Versus Disturbance

additional services that interact directly with end-users is

The application posed two main challenges: First, when

a great way to overcome this:

dealing with health, it is essential that calculations are

We wanted to create an application that could improve

LINAK Desk ControlTM in use

Developers, UX’ers, and designers were all in for a challenge

12 Custom Versions Already Sold

here. The project called for important decisions on many

The value of the application is clear to LINAK’s customers.

levels, and Mjølner’s ability to cooperate was central.

It builds brand awareness while integrating the use of

- Mikkel Yde Kjær, Mobile Manager, Mjølner Informatics

accurate. LINAK’s own researchers developed a complex

The Service Is the Face of Your Product

LINAK has already sold the LINAK Desk Control™

formula for that purpose.

Services that interact directly with users give you a chance

application in 12 custom versions for different suppliers of

to show the face of your brand.

height adjustable tables.

user health while emphasizing the core of our product.

Being a trusted partner, Mjølner was a natural part in

The second challenge was to create a design that

achieving this goal.

encourages users to incorporate exercise into their

LINAK presented the application at exhibitions this

workday without causing unnecessary disturbance.

summer to a very intrigued audience.

- Bjarke Thomsen, SBU Sales Manager, LINAK

their product in the daily lives of users.

Find the software at linak.com/deskline

WORKSHOP

THREE PROTOTYPES IN THREE DAYS WITH TouchGFX We invited a range of companies to challenge us with their future GUI project at E-14. Three selected projects were turned from idea to prototype in a live workshop for all visitors to see.

The interest in TouchGFX is steadily growing and we

At the end of each day, we gave the clients a package to use

Henrik Buhl Nielsen represented Nilan during the second

Take Your Product Development Further

in the next stage of the process.

day workshop.

Your organization’s ideas and challenges might benefit from a similar approach. We can help you develop the

This included concept descriptions, a collection of sketches

The workshop gave me a new understanding of use

idea, create the concept, and implement the prototype in

with elaborations about design and feature choices, the

scenarios and how we can utilize the animations, graphics,

a matter of hours.

prototype running on embedded hardware, and design files.

and functionalities of TouchGFX and give our users a

wanted to give professionals from all levels of the Danish electronics sector a better understanding of the

Additionally, we gave the clients advice on how to convey

possibilities TouchGFX offers.

design and feature choices to their organizations.

better product experience overall.

Jørgen Mygind

- Henrik Buhl Nielsen, Electronics & Control R&D Engineer, Nilan

+45 30 98 41 15 jmy@mjolner.dk

Nilan’s prototype included a ”change temperature” Being Denmark’s largest electronics event, E-14 was the

Push Your Product Development

feature, an ”open/close menu” feature, and an animated

perfect place to do just that.

The purpose of the workshop was to give potential clients

warning screen. Furthermore, we implemented a home

a better understanding of what they can achieve with

screen displaying the temperatures inside and outside,

TouchGFX and how a project can unfold.

and the current ventilation mode.

Concept, Design & Implementation Our TouchGFX-team of three, a user experience specialist, a digital designer, and a software developer, took on one

All without spending too much precious time.

project a day, turning a GUI idea into a working prototype on Cortex M4 hardware, all in just five hours.

The workshop is a simple tool for product managers, developers, and others to estimate, plan, and develop

Day 1 - Prolon: Control unit for intelligent buildings

embedded GUI projects. All we need is a basic idea, one

Day 2 - Nilan: Control panel for ventilation units

dedicated person, and a few design guidelines.

Day 3 - Confidential: Control unit for crop sprayers

- Jørgen Mygind, Business Development Manager, TouchGFX

IDEATION

CONCEPTUALIZATION

DIGITAL DESIGN

IMPLEMENTATION

PROTOTYPE

WORKSHOP

THREE PROTOTYPES IN THREE DAYS WITH TouchGFX We invited a range of companies to challenge us with their future GUI project at E-14. Three selected projects were turned from idea to prototype in a live workshop for all visitors to see.

The interest in TouchGFX is steadily growing and we

At the end of each day, we gave the clients a package to use

Henrik Buhl Nielsen represented Nilan during the second

Take Your Product Development Further

in the next stage of the process.

day workshop.

Your organization’s ideas and challenges might benefit from a similar approach. We can help you develop the

This included concept descriptions, a collection of sketches

The workshop gave me a new understanding of use

idea, create the concept, and implement the prototype in

with elaborations about design and feature choices, the

scenarios and how we can utilize the animations, graphics,

a matter of hours.

prototype running on embedded hardware, and design files.

and functionalities of TouchGFX and give our users a

wanted to give professionals from all levels of the Danish electronics sector a better understanding of the

Additionally, we gave the clients advice on how to convey

possibilities TouchGFX offers.

design and feature choices to their organizations.

better product experience overall.

Jørgen Mygind

- Henrik Buhl Nielsen, Electronics & Control R&D Engineer, Nilan

+45 30 98 41 15 jmy@mjolner.dk

Nilan’s prototype included a ”change temperature” Being Denmark’s largest electronics event, E-14 was the

Push Your Product Development

feature, an ”open/close menu” feature, and an animated

perfect place to do just that.

The purpose of the workshop was to give potential clients

warning screen. Furthermore, we implemented a home

a better understanding of what they can achieve with

screen displaying the temperatures inside and outside,

TouchGFX and how a project can unfold.

and the current ventilation mode.

Concept, Design & Implementation Our TouchGFX-team of three, a user experience specialist, a digital designer, and a software developer, took on one

All without spending too much precious time.

project a day, turning a GUI idea into a working prototype on Cortex M4 hardware, all in just five hours.

The workshop is a simple tool for product managers, developers, and others to estimate, plan, and develop

Day 1 - Prolon: Control unit for intelligent buildings

embedded GUI projects. All we need is a basic idea, one

Day 2 - Nilan: Control panel for ventilation units

dedicated person, and a few design guidelines.

Day 3 - Confidential: Control unit for crop sprayers

- Jørgen Mygind, Business Development Manager, TouchGFX

IDEATION

CONCEPTUALIZATION

DIGITAL DESIGN

IMPLEMENTATION

PROTOTYPE

WORKSHOP

“

The workshop gave me an understanding of how we can utilize TouchGFX and give our users a better product experience.

Henrik Buhl Nielsen, Electronics & Control R&D Engineer, Nilan

WORKSHOP

“

The workshop gave me an understanding of how we can utilize TouchGFX and give our users a better product experience.

Henrik Buhl Nielsen, Electronics & Control R&D Engineer, Nilan

SERVICE

LESS TALK, MORE APP-TION! What if you were able to get to know your mobile app before it was made? Our prototype apps make this possible.

Realistic Mock-Ups that reflect the apps’ final form,

Get Started!

regardless of platform. The best prototyped apps are

Let us strengthen the collaboration between ideators and

the ones that mirror the requirements of the final

developers by optimizing the development process in your

product. Color, scale, pictures, and navigation, should

organization with prototype apps.

Prototype apps saves you time and money by making your

be used in ways that create the most realistic mock-up

development process more efficient.

possible.

Frederik Winstrup Johansen +45 41 95 36 56

Communicate Quickly

Continuous Iterations that become a natural part of

Prototype apps reduce confusion about how ideas will be

your app design process. New screenshots are simple

realized. By having your idea on a device, you can quickly

and fast to upload. This enables frequent iterations

communicate your wants and needs and thereby minimize

during the development process, giving you a better

the amount of time spent on clarifying requirements.

end-product.

Our prototype apps give you:

From Idea to Product Faster To develop an app is often a long and complicated task. By

Direct Feedback by enabling you to share links and

using prototype apps, the team is equipped with a better

input directly inside the prototype app, instead of

communication tool. It eases the decision-making process

exchanging document files and pictures. This way,

regarding design and function and takes you from idea to

collaboration becomes easier and more efficient.

product faster.

fwj@mjolner.dk

SERVICE

LESS TALK, MORE APP-TION! What if you were able to get to know your mobile app before it was made? Our prototype apps make this possible.

Realistic Mock-Ups that reflect the apps’ final form,

Get Started!

regardless of platform. The best prototyped apps are

Let us strengthen the collaboration between ideators and

the ones that mirror the requirements of the final

developers by optimizing the development process in your

product. Color, scale, pictures, and navigation, should

organization with prototype apps.

Prototype apps saves you time and money by making your

be used in ways that create the most realistic mock-up

development process more efficient.

possible.

Frederik Winstrup Johansen +45 41 95 36 56

Communicate Quickly

Continuous Iterations that become a natural part of

Prototype apps reduce confusion about how ideas will be

your app design process. New screenshots are simple

realized. By having your idea on a device, you can quickly

and fast to upload. This enables frequent iterations

communicate your wants and needs and thereby minimize

during the development process, giving you a better

the amount of time spent on clarifying requirements.

end-product.

Our prototype apps give you:

From Idea to Product Faster To develop an app is often a long and complicated task. By

Direct Feedback by enabling you to share links and

using prototype apps, the team is equipped with a better

input directly inside the prototype app, instead of

communication tool. It eases the decision-making process

exchanging document files and pictures. This way,

regarding design and function and takes you from idea to

collaboration becomes easier and more efficient.

product faster.

fwj@mjolner.dk

TECH

THE BUSINESS POTENTIALS OF BIG DATA Big Data is a highly profiled tech trend, but how can it benefit your business?

Cost Reduction by enabling you to scan businesscritical and vast data sets at a reduced process time and cost.

The three V’s of Big Data - Volume, Velocity and Variety does not provide a sufficient definition of Big Data from a

Improved Decision-Making with better data models

business perspective. Instead, the key lays in concentrating

that provide greater insights to decision makers and

on the nature of the challenges the technology can solve.

real-time data analysis that can automate decisionmaking in certain areas.

Describe, Predict & Prescribe Big Data can describe a current or historic state, predict

Service/Product Optimization with large and varied

future scenarios, and prescribe the actions a company

data sets on the right platform. Optimize existing

should make based on these analyses. Big Data should

services and products continuously, or contribute to

therefore be seen as:

the development of new ones.

The complex technical discipline of handling data of

Business First

voluminous size and various forms at high velocity, in order

In the haze of the Big Data buzz, it is important to stay

to solve problems of a predictive and prescriptive nature.

focused on the needs of your company. The crucial thing to consider is which questions you would like an answer

Three Gains of Big Data

to. Then consider if Big Data could help answer these

Following the definition above, three main business

questions.

potentials of Big Data reveal themselves:

LEARN MORE ABOUT BIG DATA Gustav Kastrup Nielsen +45 60 23 53 01 gkn@mjolner.dk

TECH

THE BUSINESS POTENTIALS OF BIG DATA Big Data is a highly profiled tech trend, but how can it benefit your business?

Cost Reduction by enabling you to scan businesscritical and vast data sets at a reduced process time and cost.

The three V’s of Big Data - Volume, Velocity and Variety does not provide a sufficient definition of Big Data from a

Improved Decision-Making with better data models

business perspective. Instead, the key lays in concentrating

that provide greater insights to decision makers and

on the nature of the challenges the technology can solve.

real-time data analysis that can automate decisionmaking in certain areas.

Describe, Predict & Prescribe Big Data can describe a current or historic state, predict

Service/Product Optimization with large and varied

future scenarios, and prescribe the actions a company

data sets on the right platform. Optimize existing

should make based on these analyses. Big Data should

services and products continuously, or contribute to

therefore be seen as:

the development of new ones.

The complex technical discipline of handling data of

Business First

voluminous size and various forms at high velocity, in order

In the haze of the Big Data buzz, it is important to stay

to solve problems of a predictive and prescriptive nature.

focused on the needs of your company. The crucial thing to consider is which questions you would like an answer

Three Gains of Big Data

to. Then consider if Big Data could help answer these

Following the definition above, three main business

questions.

potentials of Big Data reveal themselves:

LEARN MORE ABOUT BIG DATA Gustav Kastrup Nielsen +45 60 23 53 01 gkn@mjolner.dk

EVENT

Building Stuff that Works with F# November 3rd from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm - Finlandsgade 10, 8200 Aarhus N

JOIN OUR F# EVENTS! Meet Tomas Petricek and Mathias Brandewinder and learn what F# can offer you.

We have teamed up with the absolute top of F# specialists, Mathias Brandewinder, Microsoft MVP, and Tomas Petricek, author and Microsoft MVP. With these specialists, we offer you two F# events.

Many standard F# libraries and tools, including the compiler itself, are developed as open-source and have a large number of contributors. How does the F# community manage to build tested, frequently released, and welldocumented libraries that work? In this talk, we will look into the awesome F# tools, many of which can be used with any .NET language.

F# via Machine Learning November 4th from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm - Finlandsgade 10, 8200 Aarhus N Machine learning is the art of writing programs that become better at performing tasks by using data. In this handson workshop you will learn how to use the power of F# by building simple but effective machine learning predictive models and solve real-world problems. In the process, you will learn fundamental concepts and methods of machine learning that are broadly applicable by software engineers. At the same time, you gain a solid foundation to start writing clean and effective F# code.

Tomas Petricek

Mathias Brandewinder

Tomas is a computer scientist, finishing his PhD at the

Mathias specializes in the design and development of

University of Cambridge. He has been using F# since

decision systems and forecasting models. He has been

the early Microsoft Research versions many years ago.

developing .NET applications for the past eight years, for

He is the author of the popular (and F#-centric) book

a variety of industries ranging from biotech to retail and

Real World Functional Programming, and has written

global health.

numerous articles and StackOverflow answers.

More information and registration at mjolner.dk/event/fsharp

EVENT

Building Stuff that Works with F# November 3rd from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm - Finlandsgade 10, 8200 Aarhus N

JOIN OUR F# EVENTS! Meet Tomas Petricek and Mathias Brandewinder and learn what F# can offer you.

We have teamed up with the absolute top of F# specialists, Mathias Brandewinder, Microsoft MVP, and Tomas Petricek, author and Microsoft MVP. With these specialists, we offer you two F# events.

Many standard F# libraries and tools, including the compiler itself, are developed as open-source and have a large number of contributors. How does the F# community manage to build tested, frequently released, and welldocumented libraries that work? In this talk, we will look into the awesome F# tools, many of which can be used with any .NET language.

F# via Machine Learning November 4th from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm - Finlandsgade 10, 8200 Aarhus N Machine learning is the art of writing programs that become better at performing tasks by using data. In this handson workshop you will learn how to use the power of F# by building simple but effective machine learning predictive models and solve real-world problems. In the process, you will learn fundamental concepts and methods of machine learning that are broadly applicable by software engineers. At the same time, you gain a solid foundation to start writing clean and effective F# code.

Tomas Petricek

Mathias Brandewinder

Tomas is a computer scientist, finishing his PhD at the

Mathias specializes in the design and development of

University of Cambridge. He has been using F# since

decision systems and forecasting models. He has been

the early Microsoft Research versions many years ago.

developing .NET applications for the past eight years, for

He is the author of the popular (and F#-centric) book

a variety of industries ranging from biotech to retail and

Real World Functional Programming, and has written

global health.

numerous articles and StackOverflow answers.

More information and registration at mjolner.dk/event/fsharp

MOTIVATING DESIGN IMPROVES USER HEALTH AND BUILDS BRAND THREE PROTOTYPES IN THREE DAYS WITH TouchGFX LESS TALK, MORE APP-TION! THE BUSINESS POTENTIALS OF BIG DATA JOIN OUR F# EVENTS!

Mjølner Informatics A/S

Finlandsgade 10, DK-8200 Aarhus N

+45 70 27 43 43

www.mjolner.dk

info@mjolner.dk