Schlumberger Oilfield Services uses its InTouchSupport Web-based portal to provide centralized operational support to employees in the field. Upon release of a new version of InTouchSupport, Schlumberger engaged Dynamic Diagrams to conduct a formal usability review of the application, the results of which would be used to design new features and improve existing functions.

InTouchSupport is used all over the world in a wide range of environments, from offices to offshore oil rigs. Schlumberger is constantly developing improvements to the system, which are implemented incrementally to avoid confusing users or impacting other components.

To ensure that our recommendations would work in this environment, we first created an overall diagram of the site showing the hierarchy of its various modules, secure areas, and navigational paths. From this baseline we created secondary diagrams that showed important data workflows between different types of users. These diagrams gave all the stakeholders in the project a way to see the relationship of each system module to the whole, clarifying discussions about possible updates.

The first application of our analysis was the creation of a new Browse feature that would allow users to locate documents by "drilling down" through topics. We created a design for the Browse feature that fit seamlessly as a new tab in the Find portion of the existing InTouchSupport interface. Gradated columns and highlighted rows show a user's path through a topic's hierarchy. The successful testing and release of this new feature marked the beginning of a new round of improvements to one of Schlumberger's key communications systems

Related case study: InTouchSupport Find Interface Optimization