Power Factors creates powerful web applications for the renewable-energy industry so that customers can easily monitor, on any computer and in real-time, their production facilities’ performance indicators. The company wanted to offer facility managers a matching, functional and feature-rich mobile application. The biggest challenge was to adapt the display of a large number of complex data to a screen much smaller than a conventional PC monitor. What Power Factors needed was proven UX/UI expertise teamed with equally experienced iOS developers to complete the project in a timely manner.
Power Factors
Energy
The Background
Based in San Francisco, Power Factors is a global leader in software solutions for operators of renewable energy. Its platform is one of the most comprehensive and most widely used software solutions, supporting the management of nearly 200 gigawatts of wind, solar, and hydroelectric assets and energy storage worldwide. Its integrated suite of open and smart applications helps customers optimize their renewable-energy production assets to ensure competitiveness in a market known for its volatility. In its unique way, Power Factors is fighting climate change through the power of code.
The Solution
The first order of business was to design software that would prove to be both useful and engaging for renewable-energy production managers. During the start-up phase, a detailed analysis of the situation and an exploration of standard user profiles (personas) provided Spiria’s team with a better understanding of the client’s needs. Based on this information, Spiria’s UX and UI experts worked closely with Power Factors teams to develop functional prototypes to test various usability hypotheses. After the new screens and functionalities were validated, the native iOS development process went through a regular Agile sprint cycle ending in quality assurance.
The Services
- Discovery phase
- User experience design (UX)
- User interface design (UI)
- Custom iOS software development
- Quality assurance
The Results
The first iteration, available in Apple’s App Store, proved popular with its intended users and perfectly complements the Power Factors Drive platform. Intuitive displays show assets’ status, production data, and key performance indicators in real-time. This essential information streamlines managers’ decision-making process in the field, enabling them to swiftly optimize the performance of their wind and solar farms on the go. This initial success was followed by an extended version of the software, with an Android version in the works.
Working with Spiria allowed us to quickly have a mobile application for our platform without having to hire a new mobile developers team, therefore, delivering value for our customer faster.
Éric Ladouceur
Vice-President, Development
Power Factors