Data Management Tool for VDV - PKM Editor - MobiLab

The tool supports transit fare associations in creating & maintaining product and control modules (PKM). PKM is a standard for modeling tariff data and the corresponding processing logic. It replaces vendor-specific data formats, thus saving redundant work that had to be done previously.

Client

Verband Deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen

Year

2017/2018

Stack

Electron, React/Redux, Scala, MySQL

Data Management Tool for VDV - PKM Editor - Mockup - MobiLab

➞  Import CSV & Excel & PKM

Import existing data to save manual work.

➞  Visual function editor

Create processes and functions in an easy-to-use visual editor.

⸻ Customer Challenge & Solution

Manage Tariff Data in a Sustainable Way

The PKM editor provides the users (transit fare organizations) with a modern interface for managing tariff data.

  • All data that is covered by the PKM standard can be edited manually.
  • Existing data (e.g. from SQL databases) can be easily re-used via CSV import.

The party in charge of the product (PV) either creates a PKM from scratch, or imports an existing PKM, and continues from there. Most of the PKM data is tabular. It can be edited with the same ease as in spreadsheet apps such as Excel or Google Sheets.

Where a table view would be hard to read, the data is displayed in specifically tailored ways. Complex functions are composed via drag & drop in a visual editor.

Geo locations are shown on a map for convenience. If an entry references other entries, one can easily navigate from it to the referenced entries, and back again.

Data is stored on a server – including a history of all changes made – and can be viewed and edited by multiple users without handing around files. Consistency is ensured by preventing multiple users from changing data at the same time.

Data Management Tool for VDV - PKM Editor - Screenshots - MobiLab

The editor supports managing multiple projects, and stores the change & publication history of each project. A PV can work on a new release of their tariff data, and at the same time make adjustments to the current tariff data without losing track of which data has already been published.

At any point, if the data inside the editor is sufficient to generate a structurally valid PKM from it, it can be exported to the XML-based PKM format. Errors such as missing references are shown in a separate view, making it easy to find and correct invalid data.

Take a look at how we solve complex master data management challenges in other domains: Metro Master Data Portal.