Utility company sprints
Over 18 months, our team partnered with Duke Energy’s Emerging Technologies Office (ETO) to address operational inefficiencies, communicate strategic value, and develop solutions to assist with how they tell their story to business stakeholders and find efficiencies in how they're able to deliver innovation. Through a series of targeted research and design sprints, we helped the team enhance visibility, optimize workflows, and demonstrate their critical role in advancing Duke Energy’s revenue and sustainability goals.
Focus areas:
- Facilitated activities and Design Sprint 2.0
- Hybrid multi-functional team management
- Competitor analysis and user research
- Experience design for proofs of concept (POCs)
- Collaborating and planning with the client
- Reporting out
Timeline: Nov 2022 to Jul 2024
The challenge
When we first met them, the group had over 70 active projects, making it difficult to streamline workflows or communicate their impact effectively. A lack of a standardized system for testing and reporting, combined with fragmented efforts, created inefficiencies and limited their strategic visibility across the whole of Duke Energy.
Our mission was to equip the ETO with tools, processes, and communication strategies to:
- Improve operational efficiency
- Increase internal collaboration
- Demonstrate measurable outcomes that contribute to Duke Energy's revenue and that align with their broader mission of sustainability and innovation
Our process
Phase 1: Building understanding
We conducted workshops, surveys, and interviews with all 14 ETO staff and contractors, uncovering insights about current workflows, pain points, and opportunities for improvement.
Phase 2: Design/Research Sprints
Using the Design Sprint 2.0 process and other methods, we co-created a Customer Energy Control Center (CECC) prototype that focused on real-time energy insights for customers. By facilitating cross-functional collaboration, we aligned 40 experts across design, technology, and product disciplines, creating a proof of concept that demonstrated the CECC’s potential thereby testing out the process for other projects.
Phase 3: Iterative testing & refinement
Through prototyping and testing, we validated the CECC with real users, identifying areas for refinement and further development.
Phase 4: Delivering value
We created:
- Dashboards for high level tracking (dark/light modes) as well as key performance indicators (KPIs) and detailed Asana integrations
- Wireframes and high-fidelity screens for CECC POC
- Communication/promotional materials and ETO timeline
- A design system to unify components and patterns across projects
- A comprehensive research report and strategic roadmap for ETO’s future
Key insights
Fragmented workflows
Technical development managers (TDMs) often improvised tools and processes, leading to inefficiencies; establishing a single source of truth was essential for alignment and "doing more with less"
Collaborative approaches
Open collaboration enabled rapid prototyping and refinement, fostering buy-in from stakeholders
Measurable outcomes
Highlighting success stories and outcomes helped communicate ETO’s strategic value across Duke Energy
Scalable innovation
Incremental testing of new models allowed the reuse of design system components, accelerating the timeline from concept to commercialization
Impact
Though taken over by another team in July 2024, our work was already delivered promising results:
Increased buy-in
Enhanced collaboration with partners across Duke Energy
Continuing recognized leadership
Already seen as a place where innovation happens, implementing our work only cements that notion
Accelerated innovation
Faster development of critical technologies for a cleaner, more resilient power grid
Strategic alignment
Progress toward Duke Energy’s carbon reduction and sustainability goals
Proofs of concept (POCs)
Key screens, including the program initiative dashboards in Bay 3 (dark and light); Asana/KPIs; CECC concept with wireframes and hi-fi screens; and a timeline/historical view for the group
Additional work
Working photos, design system for EDCC, research report mockup
Innovation at scale
The collaboration between our team and Duke Energy’s ETO underscores the power of targeted design and research sprints to tackle complex challenges. By aligning cross-functional teams, leveraging user insights, and delivering proofs of concept, we empowered ETO to streamline operations, improve communication, and drive meaningful innovation aligned with their broader organizational goals.
Select workshop methods, project case studies
How might we begin?
Ready to see how this works for you? Schedule an initial consultation, and let’s map it out. Together, if we work in tandem.
Phone: +1 917-720-6388
Email: heythere@howthisworks.co
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