Transforming Rail Operations Through Workshop Facilitation

The Project: This project focused on improving a critical mobile reporting tool used by locomotive engineers and conductors to track train inventory and operations. The application played a key role in day-to-day rail operations, but gaps in usability and alignment with real-world working conditions created friction for users in the field. The initiative aimed to better understand how frontline employees interacted with the tool and identify opportunities to make it more intuitive, accessible, and effective within the context of their environment.

My Role: I led a 2-designer team, created and co-facilitated a live, cross-functional workshop bringing together engineers, conductors, developers, and business stakeholders many of whom had never collaborated and were initially resistant to the process.

Our Approach:

• Designed and facilitated a structured workshop to surface real-world pain points and align stakeholders around user needs

• Created a safe, focused environment that shifted participants from skepticism to active engagement

• Guided the group through shared problem identification using usability heuristics and real workflows

• Synthesized workshop outputs into prioritized usability and workflow improvements