UX, unscripted some chapters from the adventures

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This is where it all comes together - past experience, new takes on familiar patterns, a twist on an old idea. All those articles, webinars, and trainings stack up behind you.
And yet, when a project begins, even with all that methodology in hand, you never really know where the path will lead.

Projects introduction

I like to start with an open mind - a clear canvas - and embark into the unknown with the end users.
I don’t know what’s led to this point, why these people do what they do the way they do. But I’m curious. I want to understand their pain points, their constraints, the real-world complexity they navigate each day. Maybe it’s rules they have to follow, maybe old systems, or maybe things just never got designed with them in mind.

I offer myself as a partner - someone who’s there to figure it out with them, and help shape something better through UX.
Or, to quote one of my all-time favourite games:
“…the ending has not yet been written.”

Project list

Filling in the blanks

I’m gradually adding project cases here — the groundwork’s done, but stories take time to tell. If you're in a hurry, just contact me.

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Discover how blending UX, business analysis, and front-end know-how helps bridge gaps between users, stakeholders, and developers.

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Permit & Isolation Management

Improving the user experience of permit systems that secure maintenance zones in a live industrial setting
Client
BASF
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
Role
UX consultant in the UX team of 2 (at Inetum)
Industry
Chemical industry / manufacturing
Project type
UX study & support dev. vs. package impl. assessment
Duration
March 2022 – September 2022 / part-time involvement over a period of 6 months
Deliverables
  • Clickable prototype
  • Low-fidelity mockups
  • UX research findings & recommendations
Contributions
  • UX workshops
  • Fly-on-the-wall observations
  • Low-fidelity mockups & interactive prototype
Highlights
Gained unique insights by directly observing users performing critical tasks in an industrial production environment.
Provided valuable contextual understanding for application usage, directly informing design decisions.
Delivered a clear visual simulation (prototype) that shaped strategic decisions.

Project Description

BASF Antwerp is the second largest BASF production site globally, after the headquarters in Ludwigshafen. Located in the northern part of the port of Antwerp, Belgium, it is the largest integrated chemical production center in Belgium. The site covers about 6 km² and houses over 50 production installations, producing a wide range of specialty chemicals, basic chemicals, plastics, and intermediates.

Within this industrial setting, the BASF "Permit & Isolation Management" project aimed to establish a comprehensive software ecosystem for various tasks related to permit and isolation processes. This ecosystem comprised multiple software applications, with a hosted solution serving as the master application. An initial pilot revealed that the primary feedback revolved around ease of use, UI, and overall user experience.

  • Planning UI for contents of a job
    Planning UI
  • Initial planning execution overview
    Planning execution view
  • Process execution follow-up with details
    Process execution view
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Approach and Findings

Our engagement involved expert evaluations and "fly-on-the-wall" observations to thoroughly investigate the application's use in real-world scenarios. The processes under review included digital support for compiling task sets and managing specific permits. A key requirement was also the need for a highly visual method of following running workflows.

Our findings from this research were then translated into a low-fidelity clickable prototype. We explored existing design patterns to accommodate these complex tasks and the crucial need for clear overview and visualization of process steps. During this early research phase, Gantt charts emerged as a potential solution for visualizing workflows, a concept that would require further investigation in subsequent project stages.

The project encompassed both a mobile application and a web application, the latter intended for use in a control room setting. The outcomes of our UX workshops and prototyping efforts led to a clear visual representation and simulation of the final user experience. This provided profound insights that aided in shaping BASF's decisions on the project's future direction.