Helping engineers optimize the drilling process with the power of AI
Turnco is an energy company that focuses on improving the quality and efficiency of drilling inspections. They needed help in the process of shaping a new product that’s the first of its kind in its market. We worked with them to define and prioritize the concepts and ideas behind the new product, and align their company around a new set of product goals through our Product Discovery workshop.
Ready, set, go
Based on the nature of the new product, we agreed on our key stakeholders inside the company, related to both executive roles and technological roles. Our team of Arionics worked as part of the client’s team. From there, we laser focused our joint efforts in indexing information about the problem and business idea.
We used several Design Thinking tools to change our mindset and set assumptions aside, as well as nourish an innovative, non-judgemental atmosphere that would allow for new ideas to come forward.
We employed some of our favorite canvases as a way of systematizing and visualizing information:
Empathy Map:
Collaborative visualization used to articulate what we know about a particular type of customer. In this case, because we rely on Design Thinking as the base of our discovery process, our customer is key. The insights we gathered here were important elements in the construction of user personas.
Value Proposition Canvas:
Here, we join our ideal user with the current (if existing) or ideal offering of the product. This is the core of the product—market fit validation, which is why we were very careful to include as much knowledge as possible.
Environment Map:
We analyzed the context of the product to better understand its positioning, timing and environment. This helped us realize that there were virtually no competitors, and if they were, they hadn’t yet secured a position in this industry.
Walking the path
Once all information was gathered on the Maps and Canvases, we continued facilitating this Discovery experience for our client. From an initial, diffuse idea we managed to build several important pieces of the puzzle:
User Persona:
Defining this point is key, especially in a human-centered design mindset. We mapped this person’s primary goals, struggles and tasks in a way that helps us visualize who we’re defining the product for, and make accurate decisions later based on this information.
Even when this activity was completed, we referred to it again and again.
We do this because human-centered design focuses entirely on the users of their products, and their definition becomes the north star of our work and decisions.
Event Storming:
We sequenced every event that takes place during the process and found opportunities for efficiencies at different stages from a technical point of view. This exercise helped us bond on a technical level, creating a deep interaction between technical leads on both sides.
The outcome
Iterations were a key part of the process and the main component of its success, allowing us to go from thoughts to fully formed ideas with value.
The project’s outcomes were relevant in Turnco’s internal alignment processes and were also used to define the system’s architecture, high level roadmap and complete project estimation.
Together, we built the technical bases for an innovative project that will position our client uniquely in their market, while giving them the tools to align their team around this new business idea.
Key learnings:
What were Turnco’s main gains from this project?
Visual representations of industry-specific knowledge:
Discovery around integration assumptions
Co-created definition of the drilling process’ phases and critical steps, for each of them.
Ideation of several new opportunities to improve User Experience:
A defined user persona:
A first version of the system’s architecture, which makes estimation streamlined and transparent.