Subsurface Data to Insights
Industry
Oil & Gas
Client
Walking Tree
Service
UX Design
Date
2025
Background context
In industries like oil & gas, teams often need to inject fluids deep underground to release trapped energy sources. This process is known as [hydraulic fracturing] or simply [fracing], and it’s a high-pressure, high-risk operation where every parameter matters, like how fast fluid is pumped, how deep it goes, or what chemical mixture is used.
Before Live+, engineers were switching between 6 to 8 tools and spreadsheets to track data, predict outcomes, or just understand what happened during a treatment. There was no unified view.
💡
Our goal was to bring all of this into one interactive platform, where engineers could:
Monitor real-time activity (see live data from ongoing jobs)
Test “what if” scenarios (simulate results if they changed inputs)
Avoid mistakes that cost time, money, and safety
Users & Challenges
Who They Are | What They Face | What They Need |
|---|---|---|
On-site Engineers | Working in isolated locations with low internet. | A clean, real-time dashboard that shows critical changes quickly. |
Remote Support Teams | Monitoring many jobs at once from the office. | A way to compare planned vs. actual outcomes without delays. |
Project Managers | Accountable for cost and risk. | Quick understanding of each job’s status and what might go wrong. |
We discovered that even skilled users were struggling with data overload. The interface had to simplify decision-making without hiding what mattered.
Design Approach
Learning the job
We joined actual field sessions and spent time mapping out how users make decisions—especially when things go wrong. This helped us avoid making just another “pretty dashboard.”
Mapping the Workflows
We listed every task users do and reduced it to 5 main use cases:
Monitor a job live
Run a simulation
Compare past vs. current jobs
Get alerts before things go wrong (like a screenout, where sand blocks flow)
Share findings with teams
Designing with Familiar Mental Models
We organized the interface around how jobs are set up:
A pad contains multiple wells
Each well has multiple stages (depths at which work is done)
Every stage is tracked by live sensors, simulated models, or both
This allowed engineers to “read” the screen like they would read their notes.
UX Decisions that Mattered
What We Did | Why It Helped | UX Principle |
|---|---|---|
Live vs. Simulate Toggle | Users could test scenarios without affecting real-time jobs. | Progressive Disclosure |
Vertical Well View | Matched how engineers imagine underground layouts. | Recognition over Recall |
One-click Plot Comments | Engineers could pin feedback directly to a moment in time. | Collaborative UX Patterns |
Red/Green Job Pins on Map | Helped teams instantly see job status across locations. | Color Accessibility + Fitts’ Law |
Dynamic Parameter Sliders | Let users tweak values (like chemical amounts) and see instant impact. | Immediate Feedback |
What's next?
We’re working on:
Smart AI suggestions to flag risky patterns in advance
A sync mode for users working offline in remote regions
Rolling out the same design system across related tools like Core+, XOPS, and Live X to save design and dev time
Why it matters:
What was once complex technical noise is now a clear visual story.
Live+ turns underground operations into insights that any team member can understand and act on—whether they’re at the site, in the office, or preparing for tomorrow’s job.
