Parker IoT Design System
A global leader in motion and control technologies with an annual revenue of more than $14B seeks to develop an IoT framework to be used across 130 business divisions. An ambitious goal that would require global coordination and a versatile and thoughtfully architected toolkit for graphic designers, UX designers and developers.
Service
UX design, UX research, Design system
Sector
Industrial IoT
Year
2021
Problem to Be Solved
Since 1917, Parker Hannifin had been expanding their operations through the acquisition of more than 100 distinctive, independently operated businesses. This aggressive growth brought forth incredible profitability, but made introducing emerging technologies cumbersome and challenging.
So when they wanted to take advantage of the myriad opportunities represented by IoT, they knew they would need to work with a leading team. One that could handle the incredible scale of their operational goals while supporting individual teams who would be putting the solution to work on a day-to-day basis. Given our consistent rankings above companies like IBM Watson, GE Digital and Orale by Forrestor, Gartner and other reputable research and advisory firms, Exosite was the logical choice.
Project Goals and Challenges
Manage a team of internal and external designers and developers across three continents.
Align with stakeholders and balance deadlines dictated by 12 distinctive divisions throughout the organization.
Unify the experience for hundreds of thousands of users throughout dozens of industries.
Design an accessible solution for a manufacturing demographic that skewed toward older generations.
Develop a sticker set designers could use to customize the solution to support 130 applications ranging from hydraulic pumps to operating rooms.
Provide developers with the modular code blocks necessary to build out customized versions of the solution.
The Process
We were able to define a master set of unified needs by leveraging a componentized approach. These included "Suits" consisting of similar use case themes, such as "Listing" or "Data Visualization." Those in turn could consist of cards, which were different UI elements that solve those use cases at different places in the application. Those cards leverage card components, that would the lowest level of both code and design files. This allowed us to not only expedite the design process and leverage larger dispersed teams of designers. It allowed us to supply combinations of in-house, outsourced, and client-based development resources with a centralized SDK (Software Development Kit).
My Role
Coming to the project with 15+ years of experience designing and developing UIs for web applications, I was able to view the Parker IoT Common Core project from 10,000 feet down to 10. Leveraging lessons learned as an interactive creative director for international brands, I understood how each piece of the solution — branding, user experience, development and change management — must come together.
Outcomes
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