Field Ticket Application
Revolutionizing Efficiency in Oil and Gas Field Operations
The OpenInvoice™ Field Ticket Application represents a significant step forward in managing field operations within the oil and gas industry. Developed with a focus on efficiency and accuracy, this cloud-based platform addresses longstanding challenges in field operations management. It facilitates streamlined processing of field tickets, offering enhanced visibility and control over operational costs and timelines.
The application’s design prioritizes user experience while ensuring compliance with industry standards, making it a valuable tool for professionals seeking to optimize field operations. The introduction of the OpenInvoice™ Field Ticket Application marks a pivotal moment in the technological evolution of the oil and gas sector.
Design Thinking & Product Strategy
20 months duration
Figma, Outsystems & Adobe Creative Cloud
User Experience Lead in Agile team
Proposed value
Concrete Operational Efficiencies
Real-Time Financial Visibility and Control
The application offers real-time financial insights, granting immediate access to field expenses and budget allocations. This feature enhances financial management and decision-making, with real-time cost tracking aiding in early discrepancy identification and proactive budgetary control.
Improved Compliance and Data Security
Boosts compliance and data security in the oil and gas sector. It maintains accurate, verifiable digital records for transactions and operations, while its secure cloud-based platform safeguards sensitive operational data, aligning with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Enhanced Operational Efficiency
This project significantly enhances field operation efficiency by digitizing the ticketing process. It replaces slow, error-prone paper workflows, thus speeding up the transition from service delivery to invoice processing. This streamlining leads to quicker, more accurate operations with reduced human error.
Problem statement
The Need for Optimized Field Ticket Processes
The traditional use of paper field tickets in the oil and gas industry presents significant challenges. This manual process is time-consuming, prone to errors, and inefficient, leading to delayed project timelines and increased operational costs. The lack of real-time data impairs decision-making and budget management, while the physical handling and storage of paper tickets pose logistical and environmental concerns. Additionally, the inability to swiftly process and reconcile these tickets often results in prolonged invoice cycles, affecting cash flow and overall financial health of the involved companies.
Strategy
Creating value by partnering with users
Utilizing design thinking to optimize field ticket processes involves empathizing with users, defining pain points, ideating solutions, prototyping digital alternatives, and testing for effectiveness.
In this process, we employed the Value Proposition Canvas methodology, a strategic tool focusing on understanding customer needs and designing products that directly address them. This method involves mapping out customer profiles and the value propositions of our solutions, ensuring a precise alignment between the product features and customer requirements.
We partnered with a field ticket company in Texas to enhance our approach further. This collaboration allowed us to test our solution in real-world settings and gain invaluable insights, ensuring that our solutions are user-centric, efficient, and innovatively tailored to meet the specific needs of the oil and gas industry.
User-Centered Design Approach
User Personas
Sally, 63
Accounts Payable Supervisor
Sally is a detail-oriented payables supervisor with 20 years of experience and a strong focus on training and efficiency in her department. Specializing in accounts reconciliation and audit preparation, she handles key responsibilities like invoice processing and vendor relations. Outside work, Sally is passionate about outdoor activities, which help her unwind and disconnect from work pressures. Her husband, familiar with her professional circle, supports her in balancing her demanding career and personal life.
Mark, 54
Finance Executive (Buyer)
Mark, an adept executive in the energy sector, adeptly balances a demanding career with a distinct personal life. Despite his success in managing projects worth over $X billion and a swift ascent towards a VP/COO role within ten years, Mark often finds his work commitments and business travel encroaching on his personal time. Now in his 60s and married to a fellow executive, his family life is meticulously planned, with a strong focus on nurturing his children's talents. Occasionally, he humorously inquires about the executive summary of his teenager's girlfriend over dinner, blurring the lines between his professional acumen and family interactions.
Ken, 62
Well Site Manager (Buyer)
Ken excels in high-stress environments and leading diverse teams. He sees his role as ensuring safety and efficiency, focusing on building trust-based coworker and partner relationships. This approach helps create lasting professional connections, which is crucial for job opportunities and a smoother workflow. His leadership style balances diplomacy and assertiveness, ensuring fairness. Ken's position as a well-site manager was earned through experience, leadership skills, and cultivating strong professional relationships. Ken values field experience and continuous learning over formal education. For him, managing tickets is a lower priority, viewed as an administrative task amidst more pressing responsibilities. As part of the older generation, Ken, likely in his later years, balances his demanding job with a personal life that includes an independent family and possibly a second marriage.
John, 27
Field Services Rep (Supplier)
John, a skilled technical sales representative, handles minor repairs, maintenance, and offers support for products he delivers. Acting as a liaison between clients and his company, he negotiates on their behalf, maintains records, and submits service reports. His negotiating authority varies with company size. Commission-based, John must meet sales targets and work in harsh conditions, often driving long hours. Typically with a background in mechanical or electrical work, he's adept at building quick professional relationships across multiple work areas, including field, office, and home settings. His role necessitates constant connectivity and organizational skills, managing a variety of tools and materials in his vehicle. Personal life details are generally not disclosed in professional profiles.
System Design
How the system works
In project management, field ticket approvals are essential, providing options to approve or reject tickets based on their alignment with scheduled deliveries and compliance with contract terms. This process requires careful verification and clear communication, ensuring accurate service delivery and effective operational management.
In the eTicket validation, users first access a dashboard displaying pending tickets. Each ticket, representing a request or transaction, undergoes a thorough review. The reviewer assesses compliance with relevant criteria, such as service quality, cost, and delivery timelines. Based on this evaluation, they decide to approve, dispute or forward the ticket for further action. Upon completing this process, the tickets are categorized and archived in the history section, allowing for easy tracking and reference of all validated transactions, ensuring transparency and accountability in the workflow.
The system designed for eTicket validation is structured to accommodate the expansion of features, enhancing its functionality and user experience. Key among these features is the ability to attach images and documents directly to each ticket, providing additional context and information for more informed decision-making. Furthermore, each validated ticket can be integrated into a historical timeline, aligning it with corresponding invoices and purchase orders. This integration is crucial for streamlining financial processes and aiding in general reconciliation.
By including these capabilities, the system not only simplifies the approval workflow but also ensures a comprehensive and transparent record-keeping mechanism, facilitating easier tracking and management of transactions and financial documentation.
UX Design
User Interface
“This field ticket technology has the potential to be a game-changer in the large-scale upstream oil and gas sector.”
Jimmy LeFever, Director of PayStream Advisors
Key Insights and Outcomes
Saving time and money
50%
Time Savings in Invoice Processing
Reduction of invoice cycle times by over 50%. This acceleration in processing directly translates to quicker approvals and payments.
50%
Cost Reduction Per Field Ticket
Estimated savings of $6.44 per field ticket due to decreased data entry errors. This reduction in errors leads to significant labour cost savings.
67%
Labour Cost Savings in Ticket Processing
Reduction in ticket processing labour costs by 67%, leading to substantial financial savings for companies using the system.
50%
Time Savings in Invoice Processing
Field Supervisors spend 50% less time on paperwork, enabling them to dedicate more time to essential operational management tasks.
$840 M
Time Savings in Invoice Processing
Estimated savings of approximately $840 million for the top 10 producers alone, demonstrating the significant financial benefits of the application.
25%
Early-Payment Discount Savings
Potential annual savings of over $1 million if early-payment discounts are applied to 25% of field tickets.
No delay
Average Delay in Expense Tracking
Eliminating the typical 22-day delay in tracking expenses leads to more accurate and timely financial management.
View demo
Lessons Learned
Small Steps, Massive Impact – Elevating Experiences at Scale
Reflecting on this journey, I realized how a user-centric design approach, tailored to field workers and financial managers (buyer & supplier), significantly improved our application's adoption and utilization. This experience highlighted how design can bridge the gap between personas that normally do not interact, fostering a unique connection and reducing internal conflict through better workflow integration. Integrating the software with existing supplier systems taught me the value of flexibility and adaptability.
Field testing under real-world conditions provided invaluable insights, leading to robust functionalities. Importantly, continuously incorporating end-user feedback ensured our app's evolution to meet ever-changing industry demands – a testament to the transformative power of adaptive design, proactive user engagement, and the importance of harmonious workflow in mitigating conflict.
Additionally, prioritizing data security and compliance was essential in building trust and ensuring the app's acceptance, particularly in a sector handling sensitive data. These insights are critical not only for enhancing the application but also serve as benchmarks for future technology projects in the oil and gas industry.
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My work
I created three portfolios highlighting UX design versatility, tech leadership, and innovation across industries.
UX Design for Internet of Things
UX Design for Fintech
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