Making Sense of Midstream Energy Efficiency Programs
Timeline 6 months
Role Instructional Designer
Tools Storyline, Powerpoint
Impact 45-60 minute eLearning, standardized consultant onboarding component
The energy efficiency department came to the Learning & Development team with a challenge: new consultants were joining with vastly different levels of knowledge about midstream rebate programs. They needed a standardized learning experience that could consolidate scattered existing resources into one comprehensive course.
I built this in Storyline because the topic demanded concrete, interactive explanations. Midstream programs are complex and foundational, so custom interactions allowed us to break down abstract concepts into learnable pieces. I also developed a consistent visual interaction style using our marketing guidelines to ensure cohesion and reduce cognitive load. The result was a six-module course spanning 45 to 60 minutes.
The project took about six months, complicated by extended research to synthesize the wide range of existing materials and coordinating feedback from four to six subject-matter experts with competing priorities and scheduling conflicts. I structured the review process around a low-fidelity storyboard PowerPoint that SMEs approved first, followed by an internal review against our best practices, a SME review of the interactions and visuals, and then a final review round after the SMEs requested interaction adjustments.
The final course simplifies a complex landscape into clear, interactive learning that standardizes knowledge across new hires and brings consultants up to speed quickly.
Sample Animations and Interactions
Midstream energy efficiency programs involve abstract relationships and flows that are hard to convey in text alone. These interactions were designed to make those dynamics tangible. You'll see both the lo-fi storyboard with programming and animation notes and recordings of the finished interaction below.
In this interaction, learners drag icons down a visual stream, revealing the organizations that operate at each level alongside descriptions of their role, making the abstract concept of midstream and upstream dynamics concrete and memorable.
This animation illustrates utility decoupling by showing money and power flowing in opposite directions, a simple visual that captures a counterintuitive concept at the heart of energy efficiency incentives.