Institute of Nuclear Power Operations

Data visualizations provide critical cross-functional views to evaluate performance

Digital Transformation, Industrial / Manufacturing, Innovate

overview

Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) sets industry-wide performance objectives, criteria, and guidelines for nuclear power plant operations that are intended to promote operational excellence.

INPO uses data from nuclear stations to evaluate performance over time and compare industry goals.

industries

Nuclear power
Nonprofit organization

services

Alignment workshop report
UI/UX Analysis
Product strategy
UX research & design
Design system
Functional prototype

The challenge

INPO lacks a central location for cross-functional views that tell a story with their data.

A balanced combination of models and metrics to accurately provide a picture of past, present and future performance
Display key contributors and insights at multiple levels and for a range of users (from C-suite to workers)
Connect the picture of performance and sustainability
Show top contributors to changes in performance
Create interactive prototypes that align with PowerBI and Tableau capabilities
Evolve current visualizations to improve comprehension and align with brand

Our process

Build foundation through user research

We started by gaining a deeper understanding of business needs and users process, by interviewing stakeholders and assessing assets.

Deliver a concept prototype

We defined a vision for the product’s UX design, created wireframes, and then a clickable prototype.

Validate with real users and refine prototype

With the prototype we were able to validate with their users, get insights, and refine the prototype.

The outcome

Macro to micro insights

Speed to understand continuous priorities, delivering a stable and reliable custom solution for each product of the ecosystem. The final data visualization prototypes display a holistic view of key contributors and insights for users ranging from C-Suite executives to managers and workers.

User adoption

Leadership shared with us that the greatest risk of the product is creating something that the stakeholders will not use. Enhancing the outcomes and date storytelling ensured success through user adoption.

Tableau and PowerBi capabilities

The prototype was based on our data visualization recommendations and interaction expertise with these platforms.

user research

Defining the strategy around data story telling

We kicked off this project with an alignment workshop, to understand our client needs and prioritize goals.

The users ranged from C-suite executives, to managers and workers. We immersed ourselves in the complexity of nuclear data, to consult with our clients as to the most effective data visualizations based on our expertise of Tableau and PowerBI.

Through stakeholder and user interviews and workshops, we were able to understand their needs, define a strategy, and prioritize user flows.

User research activities:

Alignment workshop
User interviews
Working sessions
Product evaluations
Synthesize findings

concept prototype

Bringing vision to life with a clickable prototype

Based on our strategic recommendations, we designed wireframes to confirm the user experience. We then designed branded interactive prototypes using Power BI and Tableau design systems in Figma.

The value of the prototypes is that users were able to interact with something similar to the final product, and we could quickly make refinements based on their feedback before handing off the Figma files for development.

Since the final product will be built using either Power BI or Tableau, our solution was limited to the capabilities of these platforms.

Design deliverables:

Information architecture
Wireframes
Visual design
Interactive prototype

Before: Original dashboards lacked organization and clear insights

The dashboards built in Tableau had poor presentation of data visualizations, limited insights and poor organization. The muddy hierarchy and lack of cohesive insights made it difficult to quickly scan and dig deeper.

After: New designs optimized data visualizations for insights and scanning

The new dashboards have branded, insightful data visualizations with clear organization and insightful progressive disclosure. They are easy to scan, and give options for additional data and formats with customization options through filter and search.

validation and refinement

Testing with users and prototype refinement

Creating an interactive prototype empowered us to test the product with users and gain insights. This allowed us to quickly refine the prototype before handing it off for development.