The Workplace Indoor Mapping & Wayfinding RFP Playbook: How to Ask the Key Questions for Success

Pointr has now been in existence for more than a decade, and in that time we’ve seen more than our fair share of RFIs, RFPs, and RFQs. Of those, some are highly focused, while others have had vast scopes encompassing far more than just wayfinding and mapping.

When it comes to indoor navigation and mapping workplace RFPs particularly, knowing which questions to ask, what scope to aim for, which departments to involve, and how to determine success are all extremely difficult. There is increasing interconnectivity between building management systems, IWMS platforms, and smart building infrastructure, all of which are increasingly relying upon maps and wayfinding as a foundation and a point of truth. There has never been a greater need for office maps to be accurate, serve multiple functions, and scale across vast enterprise-level portfolios.

In this guide, we’ll detail the critical questions you need to be asking, and how to frame them, in your workplace’s mapping and navigation RFPs, RFQs, and RFIs, based on our vast experience of working with some of the world’s biggest workplaces to deliver world-class experiences for employees and visitors which also work seamlessly across their tech stack.

Defining your requirements

Before you get into the specifics of your system, you need to define the broad parameters of the project, specifically what you require from the system, where it will live, and what success will look like.

• Who is the solution for? Some workplace mapping and navigation tools are intended solely for use by employees; some, exclusively for building management teams; some, as a technological foundation for other tools to leverage; and many, a combination of all of the above (and even more!). Defining clearly who you want to be using the system and how you’d like them to use it is without a doubt the most important first step in structuring and framing your RFP.

• What functionality do you need? No one mapping or wayfinding vendor can service every single possible use case, and in order to pick the vendor that will deliver on your vision, you need a clear picture of what functionality you need in your system. For example, vendors who specialize in end user-focused navigation systems tend not to be set up to deliver precision asset tracking software, and vice versa. Scoping out exactly what you’ll need your system to do will go a long way toward eliminating bad-fit vendors early on in the process, and focusing your attention on those that already have a track record in producing systems and software that serve your needs.

• Where will the solution live? The third core functionality question to consider before everything else is where you envision the system living. This is critical, as for many vendors, particularly those with more rigid delivery structures, there’s often very little wiggle room here; there’s little sense in finding a vendor who can deliver everything you need except that the solution can only be delivered via a standalone app, not via the integration you need, for example.

• What size is your deployment? The size and scope of your deployment can have a major bearing upon which vendor is the right one for you. Some vendors can offer specialized services, such as entirely bespoke map designs, but on a highly limited scale; others are designed to produce high-quality work that can then be replicated at vast scale. The last thing you want is to find a vendor that ticks all the boxes and can complete a successful pilot, only to then discover that they’re incapable of scaling to a much larger project.

• What is your success measurement? As with just about any RFP, defining a clear success metric is an important part of avoiding scope creep and keeping the core objectives of the project clear. In the case of mapping and wayfinding for workplace, common objectives include:

• Increasing usage of a workplace app, room booking system, or other staff-facing initiative

• Improving the functionality of core workplace or building management systems

• Demonstrable impact on staff and visitor satisfaction

• A cost-saving in time efficiency of staff and a reduction in time lost looking for free desks, meeting rooms, and so on

Hardware requirements

Assuming that you require indoor navigation and not just maps, you’ll need to consider the hardware used to power such a system. Key questions are:

• Do you have hardware installed already? If you’ve already invested in hardware, then finding a solution that can leverage (either entirely or at least partially) that hardware is a clear choice. It’s also worth investigating this beforehand - many buildings, particularly those built or renovated in recent years, are already equipped with signals such as Bluetooth Low Energy that can be used for positioning systems.

• Do you have limitations on what you can/ can’t install in the building? If your building is leased, then understanding what you can and can’t do when it comes to physically installing hardware is important. Note that some vendors are able to leverage hardware that can be installed in a non-impactful way, such as magnetic or adhesive sensors.

• Do you have a target for accuracy? This will depend primarily on your use case, but understanding that different vendors and the signals they rely on to calculate position will be able to offer different levels of accuracy, and what sort of accuracy you should be looking for, is important. If you have a detailed asset tracking use case that needs to be able to tell users precise locations, perhaps encompassing a warehouse as well as an office, then you’ll likely need a more accurate system than one that is aimed at human users.

• What will the end user devices be? If you intend for your system to be used by employees or visitors to the office, then leveraging a hardware type that can communicate directly with their devices is key. Vendors that can calculate position via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth can offer systems that can rely on standard smartphones to receive hardware signals; those that rely on more niche signal types may need to supply dedicated end-devices capable of working with their signals, such as Ultra Wideband-enabled scanners in a warehouse environment.

Mapping

Maps serve as the foundation for your system; getting them right and to your standards is imperative. To do so, here are some questions you can ask:

• How are the maps created? For many companies, vendors who require an on-site survey followed by a manual map creation process will simply not work due to the time involved, particularly where dozens or even hundreds of workplaces need to be mapped. Understanding the process that will be used to initially create and assess the maps is a major part of finding the right vendor for your project. Tools like Pointr’s MapScale® solution can leverage AI and LLMs to produce maps at scale at rates that are incomparable to manual creation methods.

• What are the timelines for the initial map creation phase? As well as understanding how the maps are to be created, getting firm assurances on how long that process will take will give you a good impression of the feasibility of each vendor.

• What is the process for updating maps (both process and cost)? Maps becoming stale and outdated is the key source of mapping and wayfinding systems shedding users; an outdated map is often a more frustrating experience for lost users than no map at all. If you foresee the need for regular map updates (and many workplaces tend to, due to the flexible nature of their layouts), then understanding whether all changes need to be routed via the vendor, or if you will have the ability to change the map internally, and any costs involved, is key.

• Map styles and customizations - Some vendors can cater the look and feel of their maps to a brand’s identity, while others are more fixed in their approach. If branded maps are important to you, make it clear at the RFP stage.

Navigation functionality and accuracy

Indoor navigation systems can vary significantly in their functionality, underlying technology, and suitability for different environments. Finding the right one depends on asking the right questions:

• Is the system accurate enough for your needs? Once you’ve established a target for accuracy, the next step is to thoroughly assess whether vendors can hit that target consistently and with the need for minimal maintenance. Evidence of successful stress testing and instances of long-term deployments in similar environments may be requested in addition.

• Can the system cater for accessibility functionality? Catering for all users equally across the wayfinding system is an important consideration for any modern navigation system. For most workplaces, having a system that can be adapted depending on a user’s individual accessibility needs, and so via a simple, easy-to-understand UI, is a non-negotiable.

• How are floor transitions handled? Depending on the technology used to establish a user’s indoor position, floor transitions may prove problematic. Some signal types are unable to account for verticality, meaning that while a user’s horizontal position can be calculated, the system may be required to ask a user via a pop-up which floor they’re currently on, a less-than-optimal experience when compared to the signal types that can detect the floor level.

• Can the system smoothly transition between indoor and outdoor environments? Similarly to floor transitions, some systems are designed to cater for outdoor environments as well as indoor, and can offer users a comprehensive, seamless wayfinding journey if they need to walk between buildings via an outdoor section, or want to be given directions from an outdoor location such as a parking lot to a specific room or area within a building. Other systems are more closed and are unable to cater for such use cases.

• Does the system require a stable internet connection at all times? The ability for the map and wayfinding experience to continue even if the user’s connection drops as they navigate through the building is the potential difference maker between a highly popular feature of a workplace app and a frustration that can have users abandon the solution permanently; if you’re aware of signal or connection black spots in your workplace, the ability to function offline should be high on your list of priorities.

• What is the process for updating navigation routes? Much like updating the map itself, the ability to make quick changes to navigation routes - such as marking particular paths or areas as impassable during construction work, or marking an elevator as out of order - is important for workplaces, where layouts are often in a constant state of change.

• What are the timelines for navigation implementation? As it often requires physical hardware, the timelines between a maps-only deployment and an indoor navigation system can vary significantly, even from the same vendor. Understanding these potential timeline discrepancies is a must-do.

Software & Integration flexibility

Ensuring a system can integrate flexibly with your existing - and potential future - architecture is a must-do to ensure strong adoption among your employees.

• Does the vendor offer a solution that fits your use case? First and foremost, outlining your specific integration use case - where the system will live, and what existing systems it’ll need to work with - is critical. If the vendor in question can only deliver their solution via a fixed method, such as a dedicated app, or can’t link the maps to external systems or sources of data and your use case requires otherwise, then they’re likely not the company for you.

• Can the system be used across multiple platforms at once? A major barrier to entry for mapping and wayfinding systems is when they’re limited to a single platform (such as an IWMS integration) or otherwise siloed. Even in a unified workplace, different employees will have different preferences on how and where they interact with the solution. If the plan is to have multiple points of entry to the mapping system, then keep an eye out for vendors who may charge per surface the map is used on (i.e. kiosks and in-app) or who can only cater for certain platforms.

• Can it integrate with your IWMS, building management, or employee experience tools? A huge consideration specifically for the workplace. In our experience, few workplace deployments of maps and wayfinding are designed to stand alone; most either must incorporate data from other sources (such as adding room booking data from an external tool directly onto the map), or have the ability to integrate the mapping and wayfinding systems directly into other tools (like IWMS interfaces) to serve as a foundation.

• Is the vendor able to cater for potential future integration requirements? Even if you don’t need certain integrations straight off the bat, having confidence that your vendor, should the need arise, is set up to enable integrations painlessly is a major plus point for workplace deployments, where the average need for integrations tends to be higher than in other sectors.

Scalability

• Can they meet your requirements in a timely fashion? First and foremost, can the vendor in question realistically rise to the task of your deployment, particularly if it encompasses dozens or even hundreds of locations? Boutique vendors may be able to deliver beautiful one-off maps, but the work is likely to be painstakingly manual and incompatible with the scale required by many companies looking for a mapping and wayfinding solution for their offices.

• What is the uplift from a pilot to a full roll-out? Similarly to the above question, understanding the processes involved in delivering a pilot compared to a full roll-out is important. Vendors should be transparent about how their pilot deployments differ from what your full roll-out may look like; is it likely to take the same amount of time to set up a site in the complete deployment as it did the pilot site? Will it take more time per site as complications and differences between sites mount up? Or will it take less time as the economies of scale kick in?

• What happens with costs as you scale? Whether you plan a pilot first and then a full roll-out, or simply need a system that can scale as your business does and new locations are opened, understanding future potential cost ramifications for a scaling deployment allows you to avoid any nasty surprises further down the line.

• Do they have comparable evidence of similarly sized deployments? Asking vendors for evidence of having delivered similarly sized projects in the past is a good way of separating those that have walked the walk from those who only believe that they theoretically can meet your deployment needs.

Security

With any system that can interact with user data, be it via implementation into an app or simply leveraging their smartphone, security is paramount. 

• Who owns the user data? Different vendors have alternate approaches to who owns user data. For workplaces, ensuring user privacy is paramount, as this can be a key issue with user adoption - and a key step towards this is ensuring that you retain ownership of all the data associated with your mapping and navigation.

• Where is the data stored? Options for where you can store your data - most commonly the choice between on-premises and in the cloud - can help you remain compliant with corporate data security rules.

• Is user privacy protected via data anonymization? As well as ownership of the data, understanding what sort of data is processed by the solution is important. Some vendors can incorporate their solution into existing systems such as apps without accessing sensitive user data via anonymization.

Pricing

Finally, understanding the pricing options available to you will ensure that your mapping and navigation project doesn't encounter unexpected budget restrictions or other issues.

• How is the pricing structured? Pricing models vary significantly from vendor to vendor - some charge per building, some per floor, some per campus or site, some on a pure square footage model, and some on a per-user basis.

• How will the structure impact your potential future needs? Once you understand how the pricing is structured, you’ll need to consider how it will impact your planned deployment and any future expansions; with this knowledge, you’ll be able to ask more directly if vendors can accommodate the pricing structure that would most benefit your needs.

• What of your desired use case is covered in the base price, and what will need to be covered by additional costs? Vendors will differ in terms of which features and costs are included in their default pricing; for example, some will include hardware costs in their initial calculations, while others won’t.

• What are the renewal terms like? Visibility on what the renewal terms look like before signing the contract avoids the possibility of any financial surprises further down the line.

• What do you get in terms of updates and support? As with any RFP, understanding the flexibility, adaptability, and support that’s included as part of the price is of great importance. Not doing so can leave you in a tricky position following launch where additional costs quickly rack up as updates or support are required, particularly when workplaces and their regularly-changing layouts are concerned.

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