One of the most hazardous times on an Oil & Gas plant is the handover between off-going and on-going shift. Risk is reduced by keeping a logbook in the control room of all events that happened. eVision created a digital logbook called Shift Vision to help make safe transitions between shifts.
Challenge
1. Research what shift workers want to see on a dashboard for a digital logbook.
2. Create a standard set of icons for logbook entry classifications.
Icon study
We were given a set of 12 logbook entry classifications from a customer, who wanted a set of icons for each. I mentored a junior UX Designer on the design and practical implementation of the study. I also researched best-practices for icon designs (e.g. use literal objects instead of analogies) and checked the designs against these.
Study design
We created several icons for each and printed them on A6 cards. The user test involved asking subject-matter experts to select the most appropriate icon using the cards. If none of the cards was appropriate, we gave them blank cards to sketch a better one, or leave blank. After a few initial tests, the classifications without a clearly preferred icon were revised using a second design pass. The test was repeated with more SME’s. After a few passes, we ended up with a definitive set, which was validated by the customer via an online survey.
Dashboard research & concept evaluation
The dashboard was to be a hub for information and situation awareness. I used Facebook Home as a seed concept, but replaced the content with domain-specific info based on available knowledge of the process industry in general. I used a technique from cognitive work analysis, a Means-Ends Hierarchy, to come up with the main categories of information important to the domain. A Means-Ends Hierarchy breaks down a complex domain by mapping high-level purposes to the means to achieve them in successive levels, and vice-versa. The result is the main purposes of the domain:
- Navigation
- Control of Work & Safety
- Work Productivity & Shortcuts
- Production Targets
I created an initial concept by including information for these purposes, then asked for feedback from SME’s. Together we discussed what to keep and what to change, and worked through iteratively.
Results
We reached a definitive set of 12 validated icons for our customer. We also validated and added information requirements for the dashboard.
Validated
- Notifications
- Production targets
- Navigation sidebar
Added
+ Various process monitoring and safety related information
What I took away
I worked extensively with subject-matter experts at eVision and learned how to get the most out of them as proxy end-users. Using seed mockups and icons to begin a discussion, though leading, can be helpful when you have limited time with users or SME’s. Also, using analogous examples can help get initial concepts down even if they come from very different domains
