How We Built A Data App That Makes Scheduling Easy For Everyone

Field teams move fast—and so should the systems that support them. But for many organizations, technician scheduling is still a manual grind. Matching the right person to the right job often means wrestling with spreadsheets, balancing workloads by guesswork, and sacrificing efficiency just to get things done.

Katrina Menne, Sigma Alliance Lead and William Wirono, Senior Decision Scientist at Aimpoint Digital, set out to change that.

Field teams move fast—and so should the systems that support them.

The two teamed up to build a data app on Sigma that doesn’t just streamline technician scheduling, but redefines it. Built within Sigma’s no-code environment, their Facility Service Requester and Optimizer integrates live data, triggers powerful external logic, and makes real-time optimization actionable for any user—technical or not.

Why manual scheduling was begging for a better solution

Will, can you tell us what first got you thinking, “There has to be a better way to do this”?

William Wirono:
For us, it really came down to figuring out how to streamline technician scheduling. A lot of companies struggle with getting the right people on the right jobs efficiently. Some technicians end up overloaded, others have gaps in their schedules. And when the process is manual, it can take forever. We wanted to automate that, and make sure assignments were based on skills, availability, and location—while also keeping travel time and costs low.

Right, and once you had the idea, how did you go about building it?

Katrina Menne:
It was definitely a team effort. William and I spent a lot of time digging into the problem and thinking through it from three different angles—basically, the three personas we were building for. There’s the person requesting the appointment, the manager overseeing the optimization, and the technician doing the work. We had to make sure the interface made sense for each of them, and that all the data behind the scenes was flowing the way it needed to. 

Inside the process of building a smarter scheduling app

So, what were some of the tougher parts of getting it right?

Katrina Menne:
Honestly, scope was a big one. There’s so much you can build in Sigma that it was hard to stay focused on what we should build, at least at the start. We had to be really intentional about prioritizing what would make the biggest impact for users right away.

There’s so much you can build in Sigma that it was hard to stay focused on what we should build, at least at the start.

William Wirono:
Yeah, and for me, it was making sure the app felt powerful but still easy to use. Not everyone using it is going to be technical, so we had to find that sweet spot—automating as much as we could, but still giving people enough control to make adjustments without needing to touch any code.

Would you say that input from other teams helped shape what you built?

William Wirono:
Definitely. We were building this for real users—facility managers, dispatchers, technicians—so it had to make sense for them. That meant keeping the interface simple and intuitive, especially for folks who aren’t super technical, but still giving them enough flexibility to make smart, data-driven decisions. 

We worked closely with the ops teams to figure out things like how requests should be prioritized, how the schedules should look, and what kind of notifications people actually needed. Getting input from all those stakeholders really helped us make sure the app wasn’t just functional, but actually usable in the real world.

Smarter schedules, happier teams, real results

And what impact has the app had so far? 

Katrina Menne:
One of the biggest things it’s done is take away that “black box” feeling. You know how optimization can sometimes feel like you’re just sending data into the void and hoping the answer it spits out is right? With this app, users can actually see what’s going in and what’s coming out. They can gut check it, tweak it, give feedback—it makes the whole process way more transparent and trustworthy.

William Wirono:
Yeah, and from an efficiency standpoint, the gains have been huge. What used to take hours—or even a full day—can now happen in minutes. We’ve also seen a real difference in how technician time is being used. Less travel, more balanced workloads, happier teams, and some solid cost savings across the board.

What used to take hours—or even a full day—can now happen in minutes.

Do you think it changed how people make decisions or run operations?

William Wirono:
Absolutely—it’s taken the guesswork out of scheduling. Managers no longer have to assign jobs manually and hope for the best. The system finds the most efficient and balanced plan, so they can focus on strategy instead of spending their time tweaking schedules.

Tips, takeaways, and advice for builders

Amazing. And for someone building their first data app in Sigma—what should they know?

Katrina Menne:
I’d say strike a balance between planning and prototyping. Sigma makes it really easy to iterate and add new features, but you still want to be intentional about what you’re building. Talk to the people who are actually going to use it. Make sure the features you’re adding are solving real problems and driving real value.

William Wirono:
Yeah, totally agree. It’s easy to get caught up in the tech—but if the app isn’t intuitive, people won’t use it. Start simple, test it with real users, and keep improving from there. Sigma’s live data capabilities make it easy to tweak things in real time, so definitely lean into that flexibility.

If the app isn’t intuitive, people won’t use it. Start simple, test it with real users, and keep improving from there.

‍I’m sure there are many, but is there a particular part of the app you’re especially proud of?

Katrina Menne:
It’s a small thing, but one of my favorite features is how we display the schedules. Normally, if you’re looking at a route—say from point A to point B—it shows up in two separate rows. But that’s not really how people think about movement or flow. So we tweaked the pivot table to show everything on one line, with a clear visual of going from A to B. It’s such a simple change, but it makes the experience way more intuitive for the end user.

Go further: Explore the Facilities Management data app

See how Sigma simplifies scheduling with real-time collaboration and automation. Explore the data app demo to try it for yourself.