Redefining scada for 10x ROI
Creating visual experience for monitoring, analyzing and predicting big data to increase the cashflow and production for a Oil and Gas analytics startup based in Texas, US. SotaOG recognized as Top 5 startups in Oil and Gas analytics.
Quick Summary
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Research and features ideation
Resolving UX/UI issues assigned to milestones.
Contributing ideas and solutions beyond existing issues.
Deliver UX that can be accessible for three different personas
Delivering visual language to equip the community with tools in order for them to accomplish desired goals in efficient ways.
Introducing the material and minimal design culture to the users who are mostly familiar with SCADA design language.
Constant and close collaboration with the product contributors.
Conducting workshops to ideate.
Defining style guides and design system.
SURFACES
Web app - Subscription model
Mobile app - Assistance for review and data input
STAKEHOLDERS
CEO
Developers x 6
Petroleum Engineers x 2
IMPACT
Improved UX and increased engagement and efficiency of product
Helped in successful pitching of the product and gained positive feedbacks and appreciation even from competitors.
Scaled the platform to manufacturing and ESG
The Product
SotaOG is an analytics tool for the oil and gas industry that uses AI and ML to quickly analyze large amounts of data. It helps companies monitor, visualize, analyze, and predict production and cash flow, allowing for informed decisions. SotaOG maximizes efficiency, reduces costs, and increases profits in a data-driven industry.
How it works? : On a simple terms Data is collected from all sensors and machines, ML process the data and analyze it with previous data models, and take decisions and notify respected users what needs to done.
Business goals to address
To provide a comprehensive web app that meets the needs of the oil and gas industry
Enabling users to monitor, analyze, visualize, and predict production and cash flow in real-time.
To create a tool that can be used by a wide range of professionals, from drilling engineers to financial analysts and operations managers.
To establish a reputation as a reliable and trustworthy provider of advanced analytics and machine learning solutions for the oil and gas industry.
The Problem
We initiated the process of outlining research methodologies that would effectively uncover the problems we face and their corresponding solutions. As a startup pioneering unique features in the market, our focus primarily rested on secondary research methods. Nonetheless, we organized brainstorming sessions involving the CEO and petroleum engineers to gain deep insights into the daily workflows of technicians, engineers, and CFOs within a facility.
How I identified painpoints?
Compiling a comprehensive list of feasible research methods marked the inception of our design strategy. These methods served as the groundwork for delving deeper into the project and product, providing valuable insights necessary for informed decision-making.
Unique challenges
Data Integration and Management: Product must be able to integrate data from multiple sources, such as production and financial systems, to provide a complete view of production and cash flow.
Scalability: As the number of users and facilities grows, the design must be able to scale to accommodate increasing amounts of data and more advanced analytics capabilities.
Visualization: Design must present large amounts of data in a clear and intuitive way, making it easy for users to understand and make decisions based on the information. The challenge is to find the right balance between simplicity and comprehensiveness, and to design visualisations that effectively communicate key insights.
Identified pain points
Listing few of the pain points that I discovered from all the research and ideation
1
Struggling to optimize production efficiency
2
Difficulty in understanding product trajectory through historical data
3
Tedious process of reconciling tank tickets
4
Facing limitations with SCADA systems
The Design
The design philosophy for SotaX is centered around creating an intuitive, user-centric experience that enables users to quickly and easily access and make sense of complex data. We prioritize scalability, ensuring that the platform can grow and adapt to the evolving needs of our users over time. Data is at the core of everything we do, and we are committed to delivering insights and predictions that help our users make more informed decisions. We also place a strong emphasis on visual design and information architecture, striving to create a clean, streamlined interface that makes it easy for users to find what they need when they need it. Overall, our design philosophy is focused on delivering a powerful, reliable, and accessible tool for the oil and gas industry.
Struggling to optimize production efficiency
In the oil and gas industry, there's a constant battle to enhance production and manage cash flow effectively. With vast amounts of data being generated, it's challenging to visualize and analyze it in real-time. This leads to delays in identifying optimization opportunities and collaborating effectively across teams.
Solutions
Give freedom, Highlight all data that needs attention this helps users to prioritise actions.
Give summary of data, it helps users reduce time to take action. because we pin pointing where to look first, this reduce cognitive load for interpreting and taking actions.
Difficulty in understanding product trajectory through historical data
Although showing all data on table with alerts and insights is a quick solution its also wont work when looking over thousands of columns best way to show history in chunks of few months and highlight if any day needs attention make it as an alert
Solutions
The abundance of sensor data generated every minute presents a significant challenge in understanding the historical trajectory of products. Manually sifting through this data to identify anomalies or trends is time-consuming and burdensome. It hampers the ability to optimize processes based on historical insights.
Tedious process of reconciling tank tickets
Reconciling tank tickets with run statements is a laborious task, especially when dealing with misplaced or misshapen tickets. These discrepancies can lead to errors in payment calculations and prolonged reconciliation processes. Finding alternative solutions to streamline this reconciliation process is essential to alleviate this pain point.
Solutions
Give freedom, Highlight all data that needs attention this helps users to prioritise actions.
Give summary of data, it helps users reduce time to take action. because we pin pointing where to look first, this reduce cognitive load for interpreting and taking actions.
Facing limitations with SCADA systems
While SCADA systems provide real-time data on machinery and systems, they lack advanced analysis and predictive capabilities. This limits businesses' ability to forecast production levels and cash flow accurately. Integrating analysis and prediction functionalities into SCADA systems could greatly enhance decision-making and planning processes, mitigating the uncertainty surrounding future production and financial outcomes.
Solutions
In the oil and gas industry, there's a constant battle to enhance production and manage cash flow effectively. With vast amounts of data being generated, it's challenging to visualize and analyze it in real-time. This leads to delays in identifying optimization opportunities and collaborating effectively across teams.
Other Interfaces
New History and Reconciliation designs received positive feedbacks from clients
The fun part
Learning Blender and Three js
My favorite part of a project was replacing 2D images with 3D digital twin models using three.js and Blender. As the solo designer, I enjoyed designing the 3D models and learned a lot in the process. The data flow was complex, but there was room for improvement, such as adding micro-interactions to increase user engagement. Users gave positive feedback, but there were also negative feedback points to improve upon. I am constantly working on improving accessibility and making the user experience even better. Overall, the I found the project challenging and rewarding.
Take away
All data doesn't need to be showcase- priority matters
Right data on right time make 1000 time productive
