In-context research to inform the design of a new point of sale payment solution
A payment services and software provider was looking to launch a new electronic point of sale (ePOS) system within the UK. To address the breadth of ...
BP (British Petroleum) is a global player in the oil and gas business. It engaged our ergonomics consultants to assist the company’s transition to a new petrophysical software platform.
The company has a comprehensive ergonomics programme in place for preventing work related upper limb disorder. However, both the historic and new versions of its Rock Properties Tool Kit software had prompted concerns about repetitive stress risks amongst BP’s highly specialised petrophysicists.
BP’s ergonomics programme already included measures to address physical workplace risks, and training for individuals to ensure that they had optimised their workstations. We were tasked with assisting BP by evaluating its petrophysical software and identifying potential improvements. Specifically, we looked at the potential for enhancing ease of use, and reducing the number of human computer interactions required to get the job done.
We started by gathering information on the alternative versions of the software, by interviewing subject matter experts. To identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of each version, we used the BP Software Ergonomics Guidelines that we had previously developed for the business.
This initial review demonstrated that the workflow manager in the first version of the new software was far superior to the older one, providing a good basis for Version 2 of the Rock Properties Tool Kit. We also identified specific improvements that could be incorporated during the build process.
BP gained a series of valuble insights, backed-up with solid assessment data, and recommendations on developing an improved version of the Rock Properties Tool Kit. We were then invited back to repeat the ergonomics and usability assessment on the new ‘V2’ version of the software.
By applying an identical methodology, our consultants were able to generate an accurate, unbiased and independent comparison of the new and old software versions.
We discovered that:
By using our consultants’ expertise in ergonomics and human-computer interaction, BP was ultimately able to produce a solution that:
A payment services and software provider was looking to launch a new electronic point of sale (ePOS) system within the UK. To address the breadth of ...
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