This was an unusual project, in that we typically start an engagement by trying to get an understanding of, among other things, what types of insights or workflows the client hopes to enable for their target users.
In this case, the client did not have well-defined user scenarios or a clear sense of what opportunities might be presented by the new sensor datastreams. They looked to us to help them envision where the data could be most valuable and actionable.
After some discussion and brainstorming, the client provided us with three general use cases to consider:
We asked ourselves how could the data available to these use cases tell a valuable story for decision-makers? We conducted a conceptual design process, considering potential questions people might want to ask around the data.
After vetting and refining those scenarios with the client, we developed initial concepts to display data in a form that could provide such insights. Through an iterative process and client reviews, we refined and enhanced the visualization metaphors to sharpen the insights.
We delivered several clickable prototypes, which were used by the client to further develop product concepts. The client teams reported that the designs were extremely valuable to their product development process.