Leading UX research across legacy modernization and greenfield hydrogen systems to support France's energy transition
Role
User Research, User Journey Map, Shadowing, Stakeholders Interview, Persona, Focus Group
Client & Sector
GRTgaz
Energy
Team
1 Product Designer, 1 UX Researcher, 1 Product Manager
Duration
12 Months
Overview
The Context
I led the UX research for highly strategic internal products and information systems at GRTgaz, France's main gas supplier. The company was at a pivotal moment: modernizing legacy processes and obsolete software while simultaneously expanding into renewable energies, particularly hydrogen infrastructure. Working within a semi-public company brought unique considerations around safety protocols and change management policies.
3
Departments brought together through shared service blueprints
18
Users interviewed across three previously siloed departments
4
Critical metrics identified and validated by stakeholders
The Challenges
Multifaceted challenges required balancing immediate operational needs with long-term strategic vision: breaking down departmental silos by addressing critical operational pain points, and navigating organisational complexity while building new information systems.
First Challenge:
Breaking Down Departmental Silos
The existing internal tool for monitoring and managing field interventions, called the Main Courante Informatique (MCI), was used by three departments that rarely collaborated. Each had developed their own workarounds and priorities, resulting in fragmented processes and incomplete data entry that undermined the system's potential value.
Approach & Solutions:
Stakeholder Alignment
I developed a comprehensive research strategy that emphasised deep empathy and cross-functional alignment. I conducted a kick-off workshop with stakeholders to converge diverse visions around shared success metrics. This alignment proved crucial for securing buy-in across departments that had previously worked independently. These key success criteria directly impacted service reliability and safety.
Completeness
Improving the completeness of entered information by different departments
Timing
Reducing time to resolve infrastructures malfunctions
Traceability
Ensuring traceability of all interventions including temporary situations
Efficiency
Decreasing the volume of calls between the Regional Monitoring Center and field operators
Approach & Solutions:
Immersive Field Research
I conducted shadowing sessions with the two primary user groups: proxy agents (CSR) and field agents. I observed their work in real operational contexts. This immersive approach revealed the gap between how the system was designed to work and how it actually functioned in practice.
The Problem
How might we design a monitoring system that encourages complete data entry without adding friction to field agents' workflows?
How might we design interfaces that reduce the times operators need to resolve incidents while maintaining safety compliance?
How might we create a unified tool for intervention traceability and status information s
Approach & Solutions:
Comprehensive User Journey Mapping
I interviewed 18 people across the 3 departments to collect needs and pain points regarding the MCI. As the departments were previously siloed, the user research created unprecedented cross-functional understanding. For each persona, we collaboratively developed user journey maps that captured their complete experience with the system, including workarounds, pain points, and moments of friction.
Approach & Solutions:
Service Blueprint Development
I synthetised these individual journeys into a comprehensive serivce blueprint that provided a global view of all tools and actions surrounding the MCI. This visualisation highlighted the interdependencies between departments and revealed opportunities for integration.
Approach & Solutions:
Building Empathy Across the Organization
When I presented the service blueprint and personae to Product Owners and Business Owners, it sparked a fundamental shift in perspective. Seeing the complete picture of how different user typologies experienced the product initiated strategic discussions about implementing a unified monitoring tool rather than maintaining separate departmental solutions.
Second Challenge:
Building New Information Systems
GRTgaz is a company with a strong risk-adverse culture, being a semi-public energy supply company with legal and compliances obligations. Defining existing tools and processes which could be integrated into new systems required facilitating early-stage discovery without established user behaviours to observe.
Approach & Solutions:
UX Acculturation for Emerging Teams
For the hydrogen network initiative, I took on a educational approach, being part of a new team navigating both a new information system and a new Lean Portfolio Management process. I facilitated interviews with each Product Owner to help them define user targets and map potential user journeys. This groundwork enabled the team to produce a functional map that would guide development as the physical infrastructure materialised.
Conclusion
By making users' experiences visible and tangible through journey maps, personae, and service blueprints, I transformed abstract pain points into concrete opportunities for improvement. Working on both legacy system modernisation and greenfield hydrogen infrastructure simultaneously taught me the value of adaptable research methods, by facilitating future-state thinking while grounding it in analogous processes from existing operations.