Fuel Efficiency Analytics Portal

Context

A fuel efficiency analytics portal for the aviation industry. It helps executives, fleet managers, pilots, and analysts track fuel performance, spot inefficiencies, and find savings opportunities.

When we joined, the product was already built, but it was:

difficult to use
inconsistent and confusing
hard to navigate across features and user groups

The Problem

When we joined, it wasn’t clear what the tool was meant to help users do.

It tried to serve very different roles (executives, fuel managers, analysts, and pilots), but the data was complex and easy to misread without the right context.

The result was a product that felt inconsistent and hard to navigate. Simply improving the UI would not solve the lack of clarity or help users find their way through the tool.

Role

I joined as a Senior UX Designer, working closely with another designer.

We split ownership to move fast:

I led product structure and direction: clarifying the domain, aligning stakeholders, and shaping how the system fits together
my colleague led key use cases and UI, and supported product decisions

I also partnered with the PM/PO on prioritization and scope (MVP vs later).

What I Did

Aligned stakeholders and shaped the MVP

Mapped stakeholders and decision-makers, and introduced lightweight tools (project canvas + product direction statement) to keep discussions focused

Clarified the data model and used it to design the product structure

Mapped the key data entities and relationships, and realized everything is built around a single flight
It became a turning point — almost comically obvious in hindsight — and it quickly clarified how the concepts connect, which sped up decisions across the team
Used that model to define the product flow: KPIs → opportunities → deeper analysis, so users could move from overview to actionable detail

Designed one experience for many roles, with an advanced layer for power users

Advanced users could open those charts in the BI tool to use its full exploration and visualization features, without exposing that complexity to everyone else

Designed visualizations around real questions and validated with users

Worked with a fuel efficiency SME to define key questions and match them to the right visualizations
Validated the structure and clarity through 4 user interviews (including pilots and fleet fuel planners), and iterated based on what we learned

Insights & Impact

Users didn’t need a dashboard — they needed answers

Users weren’t looking for more data. They needed clear answers to questions like:

where are we losing fuel?
which initiatives are working?
where is the biggest opportunity?

Impact: This shifted the product from “showing metrics” to supporting decisions and action.

What I’d Do Next

Add more perspectives (e.g., by tail and by route) so users can answer the same questions across the most relevant slices
Add telemetry and define success metrics: usage by role, key paths, time-to-answer questions, and whether insights translate into tracked savings
Add more guided insights (e.g., anomaly flags, recommendations, and “what changed and why”), not just exploration
Strengthen the connection between product tiers/permissions and real workflows, including access to advanced analysis in the external BI tool

This Case Study is just one of the many projects I’ve worked on over my 20+ years in software.

Reach out to me, if you’d like to learn how I can contribute to yours.