PG&E Inspect
Inspect is PG&E’s mobile (iOS) work management solution for field professionals to see assignments, travel to work sites, report issues, and log inspections.
This application replaces a messy hodge-podge of third party enterprise solutions and paper-driven processes that exist throughout the organization. Inspect's success lies in its ability to be an intuitive, indispensable, and accessible tool. It's more than an app; it's a new way of doing things for PG&E — and utilities in general.
“I’ve been waiting my whole career for this app”
– Kevin C., Project Manager
Skill building: Field Discovery
There is a significant risk of “tunnel vision” if you design a field tool while just sitting in an office. As the product has gone from discovery research to PG&E's work management solution, I have participated in more than fifty field observation trips and have led more than twenty five collaborative workshops with business stakeholders. This method of listening and seeing firsthand has been instrumental in helping me define a comprehensive view of the field worker experience.
This research led to design artifacts that are able to simplify complex work processes into actionable user needs for the company's overall work management strategy. Materials such as these personas both align and highlight differences of core user needs for nearly every field worker in the organization.
Sharing an architecture
While my general area of concern was to service the inspection groups, what we learned over time is that the boundary of user needs was often a bit of a gray area. By working collaboratively with product designers and product managers for repair groups, I was able to develop and adopt shared product patterns, such as the below architecture that helped the user navigate seamlessly through their workday. As a result, an issue diagnosed from from an “Inspector” gets repaired by a “Repairer” with nothing lost in translation.
Asset selection: Solving for PG&E Assets Plotted Too Closely Together
The PG&E asset map is indispensable; the first functionality we provided to users was a digital map. However, the data was never assembled with touch interactions in mind. My goal was to expose the interactions inappropriate for touch devices and improve the navigation experience within the map.
Usability testing map selection
Note: The usability task we gave them was something these professionals are repeating dozens/hundreds of times a day. I measured the time to complete the task and noted any issues encountered.
Version A: The as-is version, with the callout (AKA “the white box”) intact
Subject 1: ~5 seconds, 1 mis-tap gesture
Subject 2: ~5.5 seconds, 1 mis-tap, hunt-and-peck
Subject 3: ~8 seconds, 4 mis-taps
Version B: Removing the callout (AKA “the white box”)
Subject 1: line ~1.5 seconds, meter ~2.5 seconds
Subject 2: ~1.5 seconds
Subject 3: ~1.5 seconds
Winner = Version B. But what about assets really close together?
The testing revealed that simply removing the clunky callout was an improved experience, but that didn't solve for every edge case.
Using a carousel to cycle through the layers below
An impediment to removing the callout was the fact that symbols plotted over time often overlap one another. The issue becomes more acute in a cities' crowded infrastructure. My solution was to implement a simple ordering system first, and then to enact role-based logic so that the map works best for every field person's specific job. In the 1% of instances where users wants to see details about the assets plotted underneath, they can swipe a carousel preview until they get the desired item.
Tailoring the asset selection experience by role
As is detailed in the personas, different users have different priorities to be able to perform their work. In this example, tapping on the same structure garners a different preview depending on if you are an Inspector or a Repairman.
Design System contribution: “Crystal,” A Visual Language for Field-created Content
As more content was being created, and more features developed, it became clear that PG&E needed a symbol set that communicated clear meaning for field workers whether they work in gas, electric, nuclear, or hydro generation. Assigned markers indicates work that belongs to the person currently signed in, while “workable” or “passive” denotes whether this is an issue that you may be able to resolve or is simply to inform that an issue has already been recorded. Being able to take a look at a crowded map at a glance and gather all this information makes professionals more focused, efficient, and aware of what's around them.
Inspect Highlights and Accomplishments
In the years I've worked on Inspect, a few milestones stand out.
The Inspect and map applications (all departments) are used by ~85% of field personnel, and nearly half of all employees in total
User adoption is largely organic, and requires no training to use (unheard of for PG&E)
93% of users felt it was valuable to their jobs (survey, margin of error 5%)
“I’ve been waiting my whole career for this app” – Kevin C., Project Manager
“I've worked for PG&E for over 16 years and this app is BY FAR the best tool I've seen” – Tim T.,Troubleman
“Might be the single most informative application I've ever used for PG&E work” – Michael K., Veg Mgmt Inspector
Owing to this ease of use and powerful capability, Inspect is now "ready for the national stage" having been licensed by PG&E for use by other utilities.