SLB ProdOps
This was a six month project for SLB, a Fortune 500 oilfield services company, to identify the best opportunity for a management tool to attract potential customers and develop an initial concept.
Platform
iOS
Android
Web
Team
UX Designer (Myself)
1x Project Manager
1x UI Designer
Figma
Miro
Tools
Prototyping
User Research
Usability Testing
Wireframing
Interaction Design
Skills
My Roles in this Project
I led UX initiatives by employing design research, high-fidelity prototyping, and user testing. Collaborated with stakeholders from ideation to execution, delivering a successful product.
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-Interaction Design
-Informational Architecture
-User Interface Design (Web, iOS, Android)
-Dynamic, animated prototyping
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-Persona Creation
-Competitive Market Research
-Conducted User Testing
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-Specification Documentation for Development
-Animation Specifications for Development
-Communication with software development team to execute on design intent
About the Client
SLB, a global Fortune 500 energy company, sought our consultancy to apply design thinking for creating an efficient B2C digital tool that maximizes oil production for production engineers worldwide.
Understanding the User: What is a Production Engineer?
A production engineer does not typically work in the field. They pay attention to the production and sensor readings of wells to determine issues and then delegate their team to solve the issues.
The role of the Production Engineer is to monitor groups of wells to ensure that they are producing. If a problem is identified with the well, it is then up to the production engineer to determine the appropriate remedial actions to resolve the issue.
A production engineer is often responsible for hundreds of wells so prioritizing issues in terms of importance is paramount.
I conducted 50+ interviews with production engineers, uncovering common frustrations and gathering valuable insights.
Accommodate a scenario where a ticket sits open for days waiting on the next step.
Scheduling services can be highly complex, depending on the type of service required. For instance, a Pull & Test may involve coordinating with third parties to uncap the well beforehand.
Show the relevant requirements for the service being requested so that the client can plan accordingly.
The app can remind users of service requirements for and offer SLB's services as an upsell, replacing third-party options.
The ability to jump straight into a video call with a technical representative for troubleshooting.
Customers prefer calling their SLB representative, but troubleshooting over the phone is tedious & frustrating for both parties.
Have all the well equipment data and service history available at a glance in a digital environment.
Production engineers diagnose well issues using equipment data and service history, identifying recurring problems based on past part failures.
Having the SLB Account Rep create any issue-related work orders in real time alongside the diagnosis would streamline operations and logistics.
This opportunity was brought up by nearly everyone I interviewed.
Unanimous agreement about the value of automated troubleshooting.
Streamlining customer-led diagnosis and troubleshooting benefits everyone. It saves customers money by avoiding on-site trips caused by phone-based troubleshooting.
Easy all-in-one ordering of SLB equipment and services is the future.
Current purchasing process involves calls, inefficient for customers and SLB. Costly sales division, and browsing product & service catalog is difficult.
SLB should not try to replace existing industry software or customer internal systems.
Each company operates uniquely and has existing digital tools. This new tool must focus on enhancing processes related to their interaction with Schlumberger.
The best strategy to increasing field production is prioritizing issues by production value.
Production engineers oversee hundreds of wells. Experienced ones prioritize high-production wells first.
Iterate, Test, Repeat. Rapidly.
Swift ideation, iterative design, frequent user tests, and stakeholder feedback drove rapid and significant developments.
Interactive, dynamic prototypes were created for user testing and presenting to stakeholders.
Figma was used to create the prototypes.
I led the implementation team, bridging the communication between design and development.
I established a comprehensive handoff documentation system for developers, ensuring quality, consistency, and clear intent. It included UI design systems, animation specs, interface guidelines for screen sizes, navigational maps, and logical descriptions. The system proved successful in efficiency, communication, and understanding.
ProdOps is an automated advisory system for oilfield production engineers and asset managers. Identifies underperforming wells and fosters instant collaboration in an easy-to-manage platform. Access to single-source-of-truth data, calibrated models, and auto-generated insights for fast decision-making and performance improvement.
Digitalizing purchasing & keeping track of orders
An Order center with full Schlumberger equipment & service catalog. Digital reports track order progress and enable customers to act on well experts' recommendations.
A dashboard designed to help prioritize issues & maximize production
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The left-side Assets modal tracks well importance for engineers overseeing hundreds of wells. Thumbnail map zooms out to include all notable wells, aiding field technicians in reaching key areas
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On the upper right, the Field Production modal displays live feed of Actual vs. Potential production for all field wells.
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An efficient task tracker for Schlumberger services, organizing operations by priority, managing past and current orders, and tracking open quotes.
A profile of every well with data that matters
The well page provides production engineers with critical information: equipment details, status updates, service history, and recommended actions for issue resolution.
Attention to the look and feel led me to design animated loading states and micro-interactions.
After initially designing the desktop app, I then brought the experience to mobile and tablet platforms.
Testimonial
Hans Eric Klumpen, Chief Software Architect at SLB
“Casmir often surprised me with how talented he is. When he described choices behind the designs to our team, he sounded like a thirty year veteran in the oil industry. He doesn’t settle for the bare minimum, often taking ideas we collaborated on and surpassing them or designing in such a way I couldn’t have thought up.”
Results
+15%
Production enhancement from artificial lift optimization
+70%
Improved response time to field upsets
50+ Countries
In which ProdOps is utilized and available
+80%+
Reduction of data preparation, workflow execution time and cost
+20%
Increase in well uptime with proactive management
$3.2 Million
Contract for one year of design services awarded for the success of ProdOps