Workstrings Case Study
Spec Sheets in 60 Seconds: Building the Field Engineer's Fastest Tool.
I led strategy for a mobile engineering app, guiding discovery through usability testing with 12 Engineers. Delivered MVP with over 90% task success, positioning app as a market differentiator.
Timeline:
Timeline:
10 months with a parallel website project that borrowed functionality.
10 months with a parallel website project that borrowed functionality.
Team:
Team:
12-person core team from BrandExtract with 16 stakeholders and SMEs from Workstrings.
12-person core team from BrandExtract with 16 stakeholders and SMEs from Workstrings.
Results:
Results:
Launched in the Apple App Store in May 2025 and in the Google Play Store in June 2025.
Launched in the Apple App Store in May 2025 and in the Google Play Store in June 2025.
Situation
Situation
Situation
Workstrings is a global supplier of downhole drilling equipment and engineering solutions that help oil and gas operators drill safely and responsibly. Their customers had a critical need to quickly access and share technical product data with their teams without leaving their worksite. Building a dedicated app would allow them to search through and share 400+ spec sheets in the field, unlike the mobile site, which serves broader audiences like Procurement and Job Seekers.
My leadership role in this project:
Workstrings is a global supplier of downhole drilling equipment and engineering solutions that help oil and gas operators drill safely and responsibly. Their customers had a critical need to quickly access and share technical product data with their teams without leaving their worksite. Building a dedicated app would allow them to search through and share 400+ spec sheets in the field, unlike the mobile site, which serves broader audiences like Procurement and Job Seekers.
My leadership role in this project:
Workstrings is a global supplier of downhole drilling equipment and engineering solutions that help oil and gas operators drill safely and responsibly. Their customers had a critical need to quickly access and share technical product data with their teams without leaving their worksite. Building a dedicated app would allow them to search through and share 400+ spec sheets in the field, unlike the mobile site, which serves broader audiences like Procurement and Job Seekers.
My leadership role in this project:
Workstrings is a global supplier of downhole drilling equipment and engineering solutions that help oil and gas operators drill safely and responsibly. Their customers had a critical need to quickly access and share technical product data with their teams without leaving their worksite.
Building a dedicated app would allow them to search through and share 400+ spec sheets in the field, unlike the mobile site, which serves broader audiences like Procurement and Job Seekers.
My leadership role in this project:
Project Team Lead
Discovery & Research
Stakeholder Management
Product Strategy
Usability Testing
Audience Definition
Audience Definition
Audience Definition
Since phones aren't allowed on offshore worksites, we focused our efforts on the needs of Land-based Operations Engineers. OEs often work in harsh lighting and temperature conditions. They prefer a bare-bones, no-frills UI and as one OE put it, "I just want the d--n spec sheets."
Operations Engineer Motivators
"Cowboy" mentality
Values speed, clarity, and self-sufficiency; needs tools that "just work"
Wants to be the person who solves the problem fast, not the one waiting on data
Share product details with offsite project teams through What's App
Minimize downtime, avoid guesswork, and get the rig running again
Operations Engineer Pain Points
Unreliable internet in field environments makes most digital tools useless
Spec sheets are hard to find and harder to share, especially when rushed
Most tools aren't optimized for field use (bad contrast, poor navigation, small touch targets)
Since phones aren't allowed on offshore worksites, we focused our efforts on the needs of Land-based Operations Engineers. OEs often work in harsh lighting and temperature conditions. They prefer a bare-bones, no-frills UI and as one OE put it, "I just want the d--n spec sheets."
Operations Engineer Motivators
"Cowboy" mentality
Values speed, clarity, and self-sufficiency; needs tools that "just work"
Wants to be the person who solves the problem fast, not the one waiting on data
Share product details with offsite project teams through What's App
Minimize downtime, avoid guesswork, and get the rig running again
Operations Engineer Pain Points
Unreliable internet in field environments makes most digital tools useless
Spec sheets are hard to find and harder to share, especially when rushed
Most tools aren't optimized for field use (bad contrast, poor navigation, small touch targets)
Since phones aren't allowed on offshore worksites, we focused our efforts on the needs of Land-based Operations Engineers. OEs often work in harsh lighting and temperature conditions. They prefer a bare-bones, no-frills UI and as one OE put it, "I just want the d--n spec sheets."
Operations Engineer Motivators
"Cowboy" mentality
Values speed, clarity, and self-sufficiency; needs tools that "just work"
Wants to be the person who solves the problem fast, not the one waiting on data
Share product details with offsite project teams through What's App
Minimize downtime, avoid guesswork, and get the rig running again
Operations Engineer Pain Points
Unreliable internet in field environments makes most digital tools useless
Spec sheets are hard to find and harder to share, especially when rushed
Most tools aren't optimized for field use (bad contrast, poor navigation, small touch targets)
Experience Design
Experience Design
Workstrings products don't have official names and are only differentiated by their criteria.
Workstrings products don't have official names and are only differentiated by their criteria.
Product category selection
Product category selection
Product category selection
Product category selection
Filtered search results
Filtered search results
Filtered search results
Filtered search results
Individual product data
Individual product data
Individual product data
Individual product data
Spec Sheet PDF for sharing
Spec Sheet PDF for sharing
Spec Sheet PDF for sharing
Spec Sheet PDF for sharing
Results
Results
Results
The Workstrings app launched on the Apple and Google Play stores in May and June 2025, alongside their new website.
The Workstrings app launched on the Apple and Google Play stores in May and June 2025, alongside their new website.
The Workstrings app launched on the Apple and Google Play stores in May and June 2025, alongside their new website.
The Workstrings app launched on the Apple and Google Play stores in May and June 2025, alongside their new website that shared functionality.
The biggest challenge was maintaining momentum with stakeholders while our agency delivered a program of work over a full year.
We should have waited until the new Workstrings brand and visual identity system were approved before beginning this project to avoid start-stop situations.
I would like to have had time to test with Operations Engineers on-site in real-world conditions prior to launch.
I would like to have tested with Operations Engineers on-site in real-world conditions prior to launch.