Timeline
Jun. 2022 - Sep. 2023
My role
Product designer (UX research & UX design)
Team
2 Product designers + 1 Product manager
Summary
Impact
From days of work to under hours
The design underwent a pre-launch testing and is now implemented in real world scenarios. I am proud to say that our design has marked a milestone enterprise solution for energy management in the industry!
$140K /yr
average cost saving projected in energy costs
-80%
reduction in labor costs associated with manual energy reporting and onsite checks
+25%
increase in operation productivity
Key achievements
As the product designer, I…
🙌🏻
Collaborated with 5 global cross-functional teams
Worked with marketing, engineering, sustainability, GHG consultant teams
Communicated constantly with diverse stakeholders to align functions and values
🚀
Led end-to-end research & design in a 3 month rapid timeline
Prototyped high fidelity designs and presented to global executives
Worked with Advantech design system and proposed 15 design patterns
🔍
Conducted user interview and usability testing to validate design
Synthesized research findings into actionable design opportunities
Conducted competitive analysis to identify market opportunities
Context
What is the carbon management system for?
Problem
User: Data collectors and managers spend excessive amount of time gathering and communicating carbon data
Business: Poor management and operation inefficiency prevent industry clients from reaching their carbon reduction goals
Objectives
User: Facilitate smooth collaboration between our target users to complete carbon verification tasks
Business: Ensure business operation meet global standards of carbon emission regulation
Challenge
As an international business providing enterprise solutions for clients across multiple industry domains, the design must meet requirements of energy management across broad use cases
Final Design
Streamline data collection process
Simplify collection process through standardized user flow and centralized data library, reducing the communication costs between managers and data collectors.
✅ Easy-to-follow calculation forums, save time and boost efficiency!
Robust front end dashboard for real-time data management
Visualize energy usage and fluctuation trends of operating units, offering critical insights to improve energy data transparency and management.
✅ Manage energy usage precisely through visual breakdown of emission performances
✅ Auto-generate report that fulfills various protocol standards
Research insights
The current process spend more time communicating than collecting data!
Average data collection process consist 30+scattered excel sheets and reports
Data gathering and calcutaion process is time-consuming and labor intensive
"Searching for historical data is like searching for a needle in hay!"
Complex report standards makes the processing time 3x longer
Research
How I tackled an unfamiliar problem space in a 3 month rapid timeline
One of the biggest challenges I faced was my unfamiliarity with the problem space of energy management. I spend the first week of the onboarding process conducting extensive secondary research on government protocols to familiarize myself with the context of carbon management and technical terms being used to communicate with stakeholders later on in the process.
User interview reflects the main pain point of redundant communication and manual labor
Through 2 rounds of user interview with 3 main target users, I identified the bottlenecks in the current carbon footprint verification process and critical gaps of the actual verification process.
Competitive analysis reveals market opportunities lies within streamlined experience for management and communication
I conducted competitive analysis of 10+ products to identify market opportunities that makes our product valuable to the users
Design goals
HMW transform the experiene of enterprise carbon management with smooth collaboration and efficiency?
Streamline workflow
Standardized workflow to reduce communication hurddles
Centralize data
Support storage and discoverability of data to maximize efficiency
Auto generation
Ready to export report templates
Wireframe & A/B testing
Experiment with how data visualization makes sense to our users
Throughout the wireframing process, I conducted A/B testing with GHG specialists and the Energy Management team at to refine the dashboard layout, creating multiple design patterns to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of each version.
1
Dashboard structure A/B testing
Version 1
Data presentation that matches directly mirrors ISO-14064 protocol
Version 2
More specific breakdown informations that are essential for actual use cases
✅ Version 3
Further breakdown of data that abstracts vital insights
2
Dashboard visual hierarchy for intuitive navigation of information
Total emission data observation
Trend overview observation
Detailed data management
Design iterations
3 critical design reviews helped shape a user centric experience
1
Prioritize core metrics on graphs to meet actual use cases
I refined the interface by adding essential components and removing unnecessary features to bridge the gap between the ideal data collection process and practical implementation, ensuring our design meets actual user needs.
Before
Carbon emission intensity broken down by individual operating areas often resulted in irrelevant data
After
Eliminates unnecessary details from areas with incomplete data, offering a more streamlined and relevant overview
2
Revised feature design based on user feedback
On top of the basic structures, I added specific features such as data filters and template selection that can further boost efficiency and ensure communication alignment for our users.
Emission data can exceed the limit of a collapsed list view
Added a pop-up forum that can contain more calculation details
Design Challenges
What challenges did I encounter as designer 👀?
I was challenged many times with function alignment across multiple stakeholders. To solve this, I visualized data and flows to ensure clear communication, and that every decision is made with a purpose that brings maximized value.
Results
Transforming energy management with efficiency and accuracy
3
major operation steps combined
5+
communication route reduced
Original user flow
User flow with the solution
Impact
Launched globally and impacting thousands of industrial leading companies
Vishay Group
World’s largest manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components
We plan to gradually deploy Advantech’s iEMS (Intelligent Energy Management Solution) across 15 factories in the Asia-Pacific region, enabling centralized energy management and accelerating our progress toward peak efficiency and carbon reduction goals.
YC Group
General Coordinator & Project Manager, Energy Conservation & Carbon Reduction Team
We're currently implementing Advantech's WISE-iEMS real-time across factories in Taiwan, China, US, SE Asia. It not only enhances the benefits of energy conservation but also optimizes the operational costs and increases our competitiveness in the global market.
Chuan Kai Electric
President of the Smart Energy Research Institute
Advantech has helped Chuan Kai Electric achieve comprehensive digital transformation, and WISE-iEMS has played an essential part in helping the company manage energy throughout the entire park.
What did I learn?
✨
Ask Questions! Approach Complexity with Clarity
Over the three-month internship, I learned the importance of "asking the right questions", especially when working with a topic as complex as enterprise energy management. In addition to that, me and my partner Tracy mapped out a clear roadmap and database from the start to track our progress and consistently aligned with the project manager.
🍎
Sometimes inspirations come from a chat during lunch!
One of the highlights of this experience was connecting with an amazing group of interns from diverse backgrounds. I especially enjoyed exchanging ideas with my peers and receiving feedback from different perspectives—it was one of my favorite aspects of the internship!
