Project Stella
Challenge
Create a working software prototype capable of replicating real-world workflows common in the field of process piping design. The prototype needed to leverage some of the Autodesk’s best existing technologies (already used in various other Autodesk engineering design products), add new tool sets specifically designed for Stella, and integrate contemporary UI design elements.
Tactics
- Highly-Interactive Flash Presentation, heavily hinged on user experience.
- UI style combines familiar elements and interactions from AutoCAD MEP 2008, AutoCAD 2009, and Windows Vista, in addition to Noble’s own, proprietary stylizing.
- Unprecedented interactivity/realism achieved via Actionscripting, image-swapping, rollovers, and simple UI details
- Actionscript 2.0 framework, comprised of hundreds of interactive renders
- Highly detailed interactions, including moveable palettes, docking windows, functioning tabs/buttons/rollovers, and an up-to-date command line used to drive demo.
- Contemporary, unique perspective viewport, combining cell-shading, global illumination, and the Mental Ray renderer into a new style of real-time texturing.
Results
Stella was designed with truly one purpose in mind: to leverage existing process piping techniques from programs such as AutoCAD MEP and AutoCAD P&ID while providing a very robust framework capable of supporting very large plant design projects. Routing pipelines for typical process and production plants is cumbersome with older products (Stella competitors), largely due to old code bases and arcane interaction models. Stella introduces a modern, intuitive new UI that enables plant design professionals to get up and running with little or no training. The Stella prototype provided Autodesk’s team a compelling proof-of-concept and enabled the design and development team to bring their customers into the Stella design process as stakeholders.
“The Stella prototype was a complete success at the main demo at our Autodesk University event in late November. It was so refined and real looking that [we] had to constantly remind the audience that it wasn’t actually a build of the real product. People were really amazed that it was a Flash prototype. We’ve used the prototype a few times since then, with equally positive results. Just this week, we have our first build of the real Stella, and it’s now a fun hallway thing to compare the Flash demo with the real application. I won’t hesitate to work with you again, in fact it will be a real pleasure. Thank you for the excellent and very professional experience.”
- Director of User Experience at Autodesk, Inc.
