Overview
Transformed Excel-Based Gas Scheduling into Systematic Platform
Designed an enterprise scheduling system for a major natural gas processing company managing midstream operations. The platform replaced multiple interconnected Excel spreadsheets with a unified dashboard, enabling real-time visibility across optimizer, trader, and supervisor roles.
A single Marketing Trader had built and maintained these spreadsheets over years, creating custom Excel macros that automated some calculations while requiring manual entry for others. This created a critical business risk - all operational knowledge resided with one person. The new system had to preserve this domain expertise while eliminating single-point-of-failure risks, manual errors, and enabling team collaboration.
Key Metrics
30% Faster Workflows, 25% Fewer Errors, Eliminated Business Continuity Risk
- Workflow acceleration: Daily scheduling reduced from 45 hours to 30 hours
- Error reduction: 25% decrease in data entry errors through automated calculations
- System consolidation: Multiple Excel spreadsheets unified into role-based dashboards
- Real-time visibility: Immediate access to capacity calculations, reducing lag time by 70%
- Risk mitigation: Eliminated single-point-of-failure dependency on one individual
- Stakeholder validation: CEO praised redesign for improving systemwide adoption
- Scalability: Dashboard framework enabled rapid development for future operational needs
Challenge
Engrained Workflows Causing Operational Inefficiency
Gas schedulers at this major natural gas processing company relied on multiple interconnected Excel spreadsheets to manage daily operations. A single Marketing Trader had built this system over years, embedding complex formulas and custom macros that blended automated calculations with manual data entry.
While functional, this created a fragile ecosystem where one error could cascade through calculations. Operators spent hours manually inputting data across files, reconciling discrepancies, and generating reports. The lack of a unified view meant supervisors couldn't see real-time capacity or identify bottlenecks until end-of-day reviews.
Role & Collaboration
Senior User Experience Designer
- Designed UI to translate multiple Excel workflows into role-based dashboards
- Researched workflows across optimizer, trader, and supervisor roles
- Created journey maps defining user roles and cross-team collaboration
- Designed end-to-end progressive disclosure for gradual complexity reveal
- Partnered with development team to translate Excel formulas into automated calculations
Research & Strategy
Journey Map to Identify Pain Points, Eliminate Workarounds, and Find Automation Opportunities
- Workflow mapping: Mapped end-to-end business processes identifying pain points, workarounds, and automation opportunities
- Field research: Conducted onsite contextual inquiry shadowing Optimizers and Traders during live operations
- Domain expertise: Interviewed plant managers and field technicians to understand upstream constraints and gas industry business rules
- Systematic design: Created wireframes and prototypes with intelligent defaults, inline validation, and embedded domain knowledge
- Iterative testing: Facilitated usability sessions with novice and expert users, refining interaction patterns
- Agile delivery: Applied Agile Scrum and Lean UX for rapid prototyping and continuous validation
Impact
30% Faster Workflows, 25% Fewer Errors, Increased Trading Revenue and Efficiency
The redesigned GSS launched on time with full training documentation and adoption support, immediately transforming daily operations.
Automated features eliminated manual tasks. RPA bots pulled data from third-party plant websites automatically, while intelligent calculations handled production forecasts and pipeline imbalance computations that previously required manual spreadsheet work.
Both Gas Optimizers and Marketing Traders reported significant productivity gains and restored confidence in data accuracy. The 30% faster workflow and 25% error reduction enabled teams to complete more trades daily, directly increasing company revenue through improved operational efficiency and reduced costly reconciliation disputes.