Digital Twin-powered by Design Thinking

If you have been to any Oil and Gas related conference in the past year, you are sure to have come across the ‘Digital Twin’. Operators, suppliers, OEMs, and various service providers are all talking about their version of the digital twin and how it will revolutionize the entire project lifecycle from concept selection to operations and lifetime extension.

A recent article in the Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT) does a very comprehensive job at explaining the background around this hyped term, gives examples of how it is being applied today and lays out the different perspectives on its implications within the industry. The article explores the various definitions, but all further build on this basic definition: The digital twin is a digital representation of the asset. The differences lie in how you get to that representation, how much you zoom in and zoom out, what data you use and how you eventually use the twin. Ultimately, everyone agrees, the benefits are copious and it is the future.

But with the know-all, do-all nature of the concept many struggle to see the path to successful implementation.

The challenge lies in the overwhelming demands on the functionality of the product, making the concept ever more complex through the intricacies of the various layers and systems intertwined in an inexplicable manner. Those that breakdown the complexities of the Digital Twin into bite size pieces and address them one by one from the functionality perspective will surely beat others to the draw. The key to success is therefore: simplify, simplify and simplify some more.

So how does one go about it?

Start from the customer and user perspective, do not get bogged down too early by the technical challenges, rather keep in mind the ultimate benefit the solution will provide. Focus on finding the right harmony between the human element, the business viability and the technical feasibility of the solution. Solely relaying on the technology to make economic gains is highly risky and a bait we often fall for in the engineering domain. The shrinking pockets of the O&G operators can no longer tolerate extravagant technical solutions that bear no real value other than complicating the picture. It’s time to bring back the human element, understand the pain points and spend more time on the problem itself. Use design thinking techniques to imagine and redesign the futuristic digitally integrated space, being thorough with the jobs-to-be-done and the expected results, then walk backwards and define what needs to be done to get there.

To many technical experts, this approach may seem wishy-washy but having applied it over and over in the engineering space, its proven to provide more clarity and structure to the innovation process. It helps the team keep the eye on the ball, stay focused and prioritize based on value added. The customer or user is placed in the center of the development and referred back to when in doubt of certain features.

Structure, clarity and purpose are vital when developing complex ecosystems like the Digital Twin which consists of many stakeholders and users pulling development in different directions. We can no longer hire in design firms to come in to help from the side lines often when the development is well underway. Instead, we all need to become design thinkers.

Digital twin teams have a long way to go still and a lot to learn on design centric approaches that foster a 'fail fast' iterative mentality that ultimately lead to lower investment and a better chance of survival. With the competition soaring there are bound to be many winners and losers but fortunately for us, we still have the opportunity to simplify and design our own fate. ??