Constellation, a large energy company based in the US, realized the user adoption of their innovative digital plant viewer was low across plants.
I conducted field observations, intercepts, semi-structured interviews, and on-the-fly user testing to triangulate learnings and better understand the root causes.
Organizational, logistical and usability challenges were identified on the spot.
Recommendations were provided to align the design and integration of the digital plant viewer with operators' goals, activities and needs.
Constellation (Exelon at the time) realized their Digital Plant Viewer (DPV) - a web-based application that provides a centralized, interactive map of power plants for employees - was getting low user adoption.
I was a Senior User Researcher along with two other researchers and a designer who went to three different nuclear power plants. My role was to uncover the root causes that prevented DPV from shining in the field.
Our research was contextual and pragmatic. I first observed key areas of the plant where kiosks running DPV were implanted. I then intercepted some plant operators and asked them about their use of the kiosks and DPV in general. I also conducted semi-structured interviews with the workers and managers to understand a bit more in depth what I observed. Finally, I observed a few training sessions of DPV with plant operators who had never used the system before.
Tablet- and laptop-based PDV designs were misaligned with field operators’ key goals and workflows. The DPV experience presented non-intuitive navigation, overwhelming screens, and a confusing information architecture. Usability issues were especially evident among newer users during our testing sessions.
Kiosk-based PDV access further limited operators’ ability to use the system effectively. PDV availability and form factors varied widely across plants: some had tablets, laptops/desktops, or kiosks positioned near entry points to contaminated areas. In several cases, operators had no personal access to tablets or computers, requiring them to walk to a kiosk to consult DPV. However, operators typically meet in conference or briefing rooms to review goals and plan daily activities. Without DPV availability in these spaces, they were unable to plan efficiently. When they did walk to kiosks, they frequently encountered recurring issues such as unresponsive applications and malfunctioning touch screens.
Not everybody knew about the availability of DPV in the plant. Intercepts and interviews with plant employees revealed a broad awareness spectrum regarding DPV and its integration in the plants. Some employees knew about it and had been using it because they were close to employees who were part of the design team; some employees had heard of it via the training but never used it; some employees had not heard about it at all. Further investigation revealed that DPV was not properly marketed within the plants; finally, company-provided training was delivered in large groups, leaving little time for questions, and only a small portion of the agenda covered DPV compared to broader plant rules, guidelines and systems.
Our field research activities over the course of two weeks allowed us to uncover key challenges and to provide key recommendations for improving DPV user adoption:
Redesign PDV information architecture and visual layout with operators’ goals and activities in mind to reduce cognitive gap between the system and the real world;
Fix kiosk-based DPV glitches to eliminate frustration and improve user engagement;
Integrate DPV on desktops in briefing rooms to provide operators and managers with equal access to the system when it matters to them;
Integrate DPV as part of all relevant communication streams within the company to increase awareness;
Create smaller, scenario-based trainings sessions with simple activity observation and analysis guidelines for trainers to enable user-driven, continuous improvement of the system in the long run.