Simplifying troubleshooting for control room operators
Common Front End Processor is an edge device management tool that control room operators use to troubleshoot faulty devices at power distribution centers. We redesigned their legacy system to streamline troubleshooting workflows.
THE BUSINESS PROBLEM
Outdated monitoring tools were tedious to manage
RTUs are devices used in the process of distributing power to communities, and are monitored by control room operators using a tool called the Common Front End Processor. This tool was technologically outdated, resulting in the business deciding to rebuild it. We were asked to redesign CFEP to support how operators’ work.
PRODUCT STRATEGY
Merge legacy tools into an unified solution
We met with stakeholders to align on objectives and used the Lean Canvas to prioritize our goals. Our goal was to migrate the multiple tools used to monitor RTUs into a single solution.
THE PROBLEM
Fragmented tools convoluted operators’ workflows
CROs used a suite of disjointed apps that worked together to monitor RTUs. However, a task could consist of managing up to 7 windows at once making information difficult to process.
USER RESEARCH
Understanding operators’ interactions with CFEP
We interviewed SME with the goal of understanding CROs work processes, motivations, pain points and tools. We mapped the workflows for their primary use cases which helped us understand their touch points with the product.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Troubleshooting is the main reason operators use CFEP
01
Operators only need CFEP in critical troubleshooting situations, such as when one of the RTUs have failed or if something breaks.
02
Operators have no holistic view of their device ecosystem and have to navigate multiple layers of dispersed data when troubleshooting which takes time
03
There are many ways to troubleshoot, but interacting with an RTU is always the first step to begin diagnostics.
DESIGN IDEATION
Simplify troubleshooting by consolidating critical data
Our goal was to decrease the effort it takes operators to troubleshoot by providing a holistic view of the RTU ecosystem.
We needed to understand what tools operators needed to troubleshoot and bring those to the forefront. We learned they needed a visual of the RTUs and the direct data they were collecting to fix problems.
We made the RTU visuals the focus of the dashboard and let users drill into each one to troubleshoot. We got feedback from customers, who agreed on our general approach but felt the designs were “too different” from what they were used to. We decided to scale back on innovative controls to focus more on information architecture.
DESIGN SOLUTION
Dashboard shows devices that need troubleshooting
We provided users with a view of their RTUs with status filters to quickly find faulty devices. This reduced the effort needed by a user to locate an RTU and interact with it during the troubleshooting process.
Consolidated controls make diagnosing devices quicker
We brought contextual data together into a control panel allowing users to find and interact with it faster and more efficiently. We brought the most critical data to the forefront, and non critical features not used for troubleshooting was organized into separate features.
