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Nova Chemicals
Bonfire: Multilayer Property Predictor
CLIENT
Nova Chemicals
SERVICES
UX Research & Design
TECHNOLOGIES
Figma / Miro / Zoom / Jira
METHODOLOGIES
User Interviews
Information Synthesis
Requirements Gathering
Wireframing
Prototyping
User Testing
About the Project
NOVA Chemicals Corporation (“NOVA Chemicals”) is a plastics and chemical company that develops and manufactures products that make everyday life healthier, easier and safer. Their registered application, BONFIRE, is used to obtain predicted properties for plastic film and laminated structures.
What was the goal of the project?
The Nova team sought to make the User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) more streamlined for all their users. The project included functional improvements and the merger of the existing Multilayer Property Predictor's underlying components into one super module.
Project Execution
Project Kickoff
The project began with a remote introductory session with members of the Nova team and myself. During this kickoff meeting, we worked together to confirm and calibrate project objectives, confirm timelines and deliverables, and determine the check-in schedule and how to communicate best.
Discovery
The discovery phase began with determining the level of research needed to identify key areas of concern. Our suggestions included:
5 or more rounds of user interviews
information synthesis
requirements gathering
wireframes and interactive mockups
user testing
Our team was quick to identify the appropriate participants for our user interviews and scheduled them for at least an hour each, to use the information collected to drive our design decisions. An interview guide was developed to pave the way for a deep, free-flowing conversation with our participants. This guide contained primary questions, follow-up questions, and any clarifying information that the participants may need. The findings were then synthesized to find commonalities in their responses and to formulate the requirements that will make their way onto the wireframes and final design.
Project Results
Once the Nova team approved the final design, we then tested it against a small portion of our user base. Much to our delight, the new design was welcomed with praise and excitement.
Some design challenges are harder than others, but when you have a great client to work with, it makes it that much easier to achieve your objective. Our collaboration achieved efficiencies, where none existed, and eliminated workarounds users had to come up with.
