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Breaking Down the Complexity : Driving Innovation in HVAC&R industry

In my role as UX Design Lead at Lennox, I spearheaded the design and innovation efforts for THE HUB, an e-commerce platform tailored for refrigeration contractors. The project’s ambition was clear: to streamline and enhance the complex process of building and selling refrigeration solutions, from supermarket freezers to cold-storage warehouses. However, the path to realizing this vision was filled with challenges that required a deep understanding of the ecosystem and a methodical approach to breaking down complexity.

Service

User Experience, Service Design

Company

Lennox International Inc

Timeline

2013-2019

THE HUB 

Navigating THE HUB’s complex ecosystem required harmonizing the diverse needs, tools, and workflows of refrigeration contractors, application engineers, sales teams, and IT professionals into a cohesive user experience.

The Challenges

Box Load Calculation

Determining the required capacity for refrigeration systems involved several variables—room environment, wall load, air load, and product load.

Each of these elements needed to be accurately calculated to ensure that the system would function optimally.

Equipment Configuration

Once the load calculations were complete, the challenge shifted to configuring the right equipment—condensers, unit coolers, and ship-loose options

—all while integrating seamlessly with existing SAP systems.

Technical Feasibility

Ensuring that the complex configurations were technically feasible required seamless integration between multiple SAP systems

—Hybris for e-commerce, CPQ for configuring, pricing, and quoting, and SAP ERP for backend operations.

Breaking down complexity
with Systems Thinking

To address THE HUB challenges, I employed a systems thinking approach, viewing the project not as a series of isolated tasks, but as an interconnected ecosystem. This perspective allowed me to identify and address the dependencies and interrelations between different elements of the project.

Holistic mapping

I started by mapping out the entire ecosystem, identifying the interdependencies between the various stakeholders, tools, and workflows. This helped create a shared understanding of the complex problems at hand and served as a pathway for targeted interventions.

Refrigeration Project Business_edited.jpg

Co-creating workshops

I facilitated multiple workshops involving stakeholders from different parts of the business—refrigeration contractors, application engineers, sales teams, and IT professionals.

 

These sessions were designed to capture real-time scenarios, pain points, and user needs, ensuring that the solutions we developed were grounded in actual user experiences.

Iterative Prototyping and Testing

Leveraging Agile methodologies, I integrated research, design, and usability testing into an iterative development process.

 

This allowed us to continuously refine the user experience, ensuring that each iteration brought us closer to a solution that was both user-friendly and technically sound.

 

UX_Agile_process_map1.jpeg
SYSTEM SUMMARY

Mastering Complexity and Driving Innovation

The systems thinking approach, combined with a focus on breaking down complexity, enabled us to deliver THE HUB as a powerful, user-centered platform that transformed how refrigeration contractors build and sell solutions.

 

The project's success was not just in the innovative technology it delivered but in the way it harmonized the needs of a diverse set of stakeholders, proving that mastering complexity is key to driving true innovation.

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Wall Load.png

iCON

The iCON project set the stage by reimagining remote site monitoring for multi-site enterprises. The challenge was to create a scalable solution that could integrate with a complex array of technologies, including on-site building controllers and SAP ERP systems, all while meeting the diverse needs of franchise owners, facilities managers, and service engineers.

The Approach

I used systems thinking to view the ecosystem as a whole, which was essential for understanding the interdependencies between different system elements. Co-creation workshops facilitated collaboration across various stakeholders, leading to the development of a solution that allowed users to remotely monitor all building equipment, from lighting to refrigeration.

Service Interactions

Ideation Workshops

The Outcome

The iCON project resulted in a powerful remote monitoring system that enhanced operational efficiency and energy management across multiple sites. This success provided valuable insights and methodologies that were later applied to the more complex challenges of THE HUB.

iCON

Remote Site Monitoring

​​​

LII Pacesetter

INNOVATION

Award

THE HUB

Refrigeration portal

​​​

LII Pacesetter

INNOVATION

Award

THE LIINK

Employee portal​

 

LII Pacesetter

PRODUCTIVITY

Award

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