Accelerating enterprise efficiency with AIOT energy management workflow automation
Shipped
B2B SaaS
0→1
Rapid Prototype
Timeline
Jun 2022 - Sep 2022
Role
Lead UX Designer
Team
2 designers
1 Project manager
Engineering team
Skills
Figma
Impact
Centralized fragmented workflows
Established a new energy management workflow and created 18+ dashboard interfaces that brought data collection, calculation, communication, and reporting into one system.
Created scalable product patterns
Introduced reusable UI components designed to work within Advantech's broader design system, currently implemented in 3 other products.
Established a north-star direction
Created a foundation for how the product could scale across Advantech's enterprise ecosystem and 10,000+ global clients.
Overview
I worked with 8 global cross-functional teams to unify fragmented sustainability workflows into a single decision-support platform.
Designing a unified platform to achieve efficiency, compliance, and sustainability.
Advantech is the world's No.1 industrial PC market provider who is developing an integrated solution for energy management across multiple industry domains. I joined the Wise-iEMs product team to lead end-to-end research and design of a front and back-end dashboard system.
Discovery
I joined with zero knowledge of energy management—and two months to design.
The energy management process is complicated and time-consuming
Energy management was a completely unfamiliar domain when I joined the WISE-iEMS team.
Before touching the interface, I needed to understand the system behind it:
Who are the key stakeholders?
A: Data collectors and Data Managers
What does the current process look like?
(See graph below)
What are companies trying to achieve?
A: Establish domain specific energy management workflows
Key Insight
The current energy management process spend more time
communicating than collecting data!
The energy calculation itself wasn't the biggest source of friction — The process surrounding it was.
Data lived across 30+ spreadsheets and reports. Collectors manually gathered information from different teams, while managers relied on repeated communication to identify missing or incorrect data.
30+ scattered excel sheets and reports...
Manual data collection
Complex report criteria
Constraint
Two months. A complex system. What should we solve first?
What makes a successful energy management platform?
Our research uncovered opportunities across the entire energy management process. I worked with the team to prioritize the problems that created the most friction and could deliver the greatest value in an MVP.
Make data easier to understand
Help managers and decision-makers quickly identify what matters without digging through complex reports.
Streamline data collection
Reduce manual work and communication hurdles between collectors and managers.
Initiation
Data Gathering
Carbon Calculate
Manage
Report Generate
Audit
MVP 1
MVP 2
Operation time spend
＝
83%
90%
labor involved
Most critical
The current workflow created three connected problems:
Scattered data
Workers had to search across spreadsheets and reports to collect and verify information.
Complicated workflow
Manual data gathering and calculaion process is time-consuming and labor intensive
Communication gap
Each update, modification, and edit currently requires days to weeks to be communicated.
Design Decision 01
Bringing the scattered pieces into one workflow.
Information hierarchy built for error detection
I introduced a task and status system that connects managers directly with data collectors—reducing the need to track requests across separate email threads.
ECOEnterprise
WISE-Portal
Organization Settings
Organization Attribute Management
Carbon Emission Calculator
Reports & Statistics
Organization Attribute Management
>
Resource Attributes
Organization Attribute
Area: All
Lin-Kou
Taiwan
Electronic
Yan-Kuang
Taiwan
Electronic
Rui-Kuang
Taiwan
Electronic
Seattle
US
Electronic
Lin-Kou
2025
Status: All
View Full Emission Report
Monthly Report
Year
Month
Status
Recorded Time
Modification Action
2025
11
Not Submitted
2025/07/01
Select
2025
10
Not Submitted
2025/07/01
Select
2025
09
Reviewing
2025/07/01
Needs edit
2025
08
Reviewing
2025/07/01
Needs edit
2025
07
Reviewing
2025/07/01
Needs edit
2025
06
Approved
2025/07/01
None
2025
05
Approved
2025/07/01
None
2025
01
Approved
2025/07/01
None
Incomplete
Require edit
Contact manager
None
No more endless email threads!!!
This is revolutionary
The simplest calculation experience
A structured calculation flow that employees across experience levels can understand.
WISE-iEMS
ECOEnterprise
WISE-Portal
Organization Settings
Organization Attribute Management
Carbon Emission Calculator
Reports & Statistics
Organization Attribute Management
>
Resource Attributes
>
Lin-Ko Area
Lin-Ko Area
Organization Type
Electronic
Reporting Period
2022/07
Registerated Since
2013/03/07
Total Emission:
0 KCO2e
Submit
Scope 1
Scope 2
Scope 3
Emission:
0 KCO2e
Add Emissions Category
Emissions Category
M02
Activity Name
Deisel Generate
Activity Type
Stable Fuel
Emission Source
Gas
Fuel Type
Gas
Biogenic Energy
N/A
Activity Data
385.85 tons
Emission Data (tCO2e)
6,103.5725 tCO2e
GHG Type
CO2
Calculation Formula
Carbon E.F.
Emission Factor Type
E.I DEV
Emission Factor Value
1.8790
Emission Factor Unit
tons
CO₂ Equivalent
(CO₂e)
6,100.8500
GWP
1
Emission
(t/yr)
6,100.8500
GHG Type
CH4
Calculation Formula
Carbon E.F.
Emission Factor Type
E.I DEV
Emission Factor Value
0.0001
Emission Factor Unit
tons
CO₂ Equivalent
(CO₂e)
0.1089
GWP
25
Emission
(t/yr)
2.7225
Emissions Category
Search category...
Activity Name
Name
Activity Type
Select
Emission Source
Select
Fuel Type
Select
Biogenic Energy Source
Select
Add Activity Data
Emissions Category
Search category...
Activity Name
Name
Activity Type
Select
Emission Source
Select
Fuel Type
Select
Biogenic Energy Source
Select
Add Activity Data
Emissions Category
Search category...
Activity Name
Name
Activity Type
Select
Emission Source
Select
Fuel Type
Select
Biogenic Energy Source
Select
Add Activity Data
Category 1 Details
2 activity rows
GHG Type: CO2
Calculation Formula*
Emission Factor...
Emission Factor Type*
Internal (Chemical)
Emission Factor Value
0.00021
Emission Factor Unit
metric ton (t) / kiloliter (kL)
Emission (t/year)
6,100.8500
GWP
1
CO₂ Equivalent (CO₂e)/year
6,100.8500
GHG Type: CH4
Calculation Formula*
Emission Factor...
Emission Factor Type*
Internal (Chemical)
Emission Factor Value
0.00021
Emission Factor Unit
metric ton (t) / kiloliter (kL)
Emission (t/year)
6,100.8500
GWP
1
CO₂ Equivalent (CO₂e)/year
6,100.8500
Cancel
Save
Exploring layouts that feels most intuitive
Instead of requiring workers to navigate complex spreadsheets and formulas, the interface organizes required inputs into a structured calculation flow that employees across experience levels can understand.
Takeaway 01
Surfacing key data in preview provides reassurance for data collectors.
Takeaway 02
Detailed overview of contents is critical for identifying errors.
Design Decision 02
One dashboard. Multiple stakeholders. Different definitions of “important.”
Design the hierarchy around decisions, not around data.
After rounds of A/B testing, the final dashboard was able to balance out between detail and overview.
Making complex energy data actionable at a glance.
I developed new components that fit within Advantech's existing design system so the patterns could scale across the broader product.
Validation
Testing the design
Final Validation
This is the first step towards developing one of Advantech's core product ecosystems. Did it achieve the goal? Yes, it did.
Post-launch Testing Results
50.0%
Energy & Cost Reduction
Deliver up to 50% overall energy savings and reduce 20–50% costs from energy, manpower, and maintenance.
30.0%
Extended Equipment Lifespan
Reduce the risk of unexpected equipment downtime, and extend its lifespan by up to 30%.
90.0%
Operational Efficiency
Increase management efficiency by up to 90% through streamlined processes and data-driven operations.
From an MVP to a north-star product vision.
What started as a two-month project evolved into a vision for how Advantech could connect energy management with the AIOT product ecosystem. I'm proud to say that I did it!
Centralized fragmented workflows
Established a new energy management workflow and created 18+ dashboard interfaces that brought data collection, calculation, communication, and reporting into one system.
Created scalable product patterns
Introduced reusable UI components designed to work within Advantech's broader design system, currently implemented in 3 other products.
Established a north-star direction
Created a foundation for how the product could scale across Advantech's enterprise ecosystem and 10,000+ global clients.
What did I learn?
Approach Complexity with Clarity
I learned the importance of clarifying questions early on in the process, especially when working with a topic as complex as enterprise energy management.
Don't feel like you have to solve everything.
With only 2 months to research, test, design, and refine. I learned to prioritize the most impactful problems, understanding that solving key issues first leads to meaningful progress, even if some problems are left for later.
Sometimes inspirations come from a chat during lunch!
I especially enjoyed exchanging ideas with my peers and receiving feedback from different perspectives—it was one of my favorite aspects of the internship!
© 2026 Janet Chen. All Rights Reserved.
Made in Seattle.