Project Goals
Aurora Solar’s platform enabled users to create highly accurate solar system designs, but they had to export those designs and spend many hours manually creating plan set documents outside of the software. The project aimed to automate plan set creation by transforming system design data into customizable, permit-ready architectural documents within the Aurora platform.
Problem
Solution
Result
The MVP generated a permit-ready plan set instantly, a task that takes a trained plan set designer 1 to 8 hours to complete manually. We shipped it to Aurora's plan set vendors, who operated on a 48-hour SLA, putting the automation on a path to reduce our turnaround times before a full customer-facing release. In six months, the project went from a loosely-defined problem space to four shipped features with validated product-market fit, and the jurisdiction-requirements database that would extend coverage beyond the initial jurisdiction was in engineering implementation when I departed.
The timeline forced discovery and delivery to run in parallel. I compressed research into 1-2 weeks per feature, working directly with UX researchers and plan set designers to map the manual workflow, then sequenced the solution into the independently shippable features so engineering could build one while I designed the next. Releasing to vendor partners first, rather than holding for a customer-ready launch, let us validate the automation against real permit submissions without the exposure of a public release.
Process & Execution
- Gather requirements: Outline regulatory standards and rules for plan set compliance in various jurisdictions throughout the United States.
- Discovery workshops: Lead interactive workshops with internal stakeholders to uncover pain points and common use cases, discuss solutions, and determine priorities.
- User research: Interview solar professionals and internal subject matter experts to understand the end-to-end process of solar projects as well as specific plan set tasks.
- Ideate: Sketch flows and create wireframes to pin down information architecture and dependencies.
- Feedback: Solicit feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders to meet all business requirements.
- Refine: Use feedback to iterate until we had the desired, lean initial solution.
- Ship: Work closely with engineers to build and ship the final designs.
Research & Analytics
In a highly technical industry and complex problem space, it was important that I spend time gathering information about solar projects from sales pitch to installation.
- Regulatory research: Understand regulatory standards and rules for compliance in various jurisdictions throughout the United States.
- Expert consultation: Consult with internal subject matter experts regarding solar industry standards and best practices, both in regards to plan set documents and broader solar installation processes.
- User interviews: Understand actual user needs and requirements through direct conversations with a variety of solar professionals.
- Amplitude data: Review quantitative data on existing user behavior to find gaps in the current experience, particularly around AHJs.
Core Principles
Data accuracy
- Ensure that AHJ requirements database is up to date and accurate
- Give users confidence that they can trust the automated requirements for the jurisdictions
Customizability
- Allow users to correct or customize requirements for specific situations
- Enable users to provide additional notes and data for their own uses
Permit readiness
- Show users what codes will be enforced so they know what to do to prevent rejected permits
- Give users information ahead of time to expedite permitting processes
