The oil and gas industry is undergoing one of the most significant digital transformations in its history. As technology advances, so too does the need for smarter, more user-centric software solutions that enhance operational efficiency, data analysis, and decision-making. A key part of this transformation is the rise of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology, which is helping to unlock new ways to manage resources, track assets, and improve sustainability.

However, despite these innovations, many software systems in the oil and gas industry still fail to prioritize user experience (UX). These tools are often built by technical people for technical people, leading to interfaces that are functional but lack intuitiveness and ease of use — especially for non-technical users in the field.

To address this gap, I am developing the Oil Well Tracker App — the first in a series of UX-driven GIS-based prototypes I will build over the next year. These prototypes will focus on developing practical, user-friendly solutions while leveraging modern open-source software to power the front and back ends.

Not Full-Function Products: Purposeful Prototypes

It’s important to clarify that these will be prototypes, not fully production-ready applications. The aim is not to deliver a complete, enterprise-grade system, but to explore and experiment with modern software tools, GIS capabilities, and user-centric design principles. The prototypes will demonstrate concepts, workflows, and functionalities—helping to identify which approaches work best in oil and gas operations before fully building them out into scalable solutions.

For example, the Oil Well Tracker App will showcase features such as:

• Interactive maps to visualize well sites
• Mock data for monitoring well performance and maintenance schedules
• Simulated offline functionality for field conditions

These prototypes will focus on demonstrating innovative GIS and UX concepts, without the complexity of full backend integration or enterprise-scale infrastructure.

 Built with Open-Source Tools: A Modern Tech Stack

The core of these prototypes will be built using modern open-source software—specifically tools in the JavaScript ecosystem for the front end and open-source GIS solutions for the backend. Here’s a breakdown of the tools I’ll be using:

Front End (User Interface)

• React: A powerful and flexible JavaScript library for building responsive, component-based web applications. React will be used to create dynamic, data-driven interfaces that can easily scale and adapt to different user needs.
• React Native: A framework for building mobile apps using the same React principles but compiling them into native code. This will enable me to deliver a smooth, performant experience on mobile and tablet devices.
• MapLibre: An open-source mapping library that allows for interactive maps to visualize spatial data. It provides flexibility to style and control the maps for different oil well or asset tracking needs.
• Leaflet: A lightweight open-source library for creating interactive maps. It integrates well with other GIS tools and will be used for rendering geographic layers and visualizing spatial data.
• OpenLayers: A robust open-source mapping library that will be used for advanced map interactions, including vector data rendering and spatial queries.
• Turf.js: A JavaScript library for spatial analysis. Turf.js will help perform geospatial computations, such as buffering, distance calculations, and spatial queries, directly in the web and mobile apps.

Back End (Data Storage and Processing)

• GeoServer: A powerful, open-source server for serving geospatial data. GeoServer will handle the management and serving of spatial data (such as oil well locations, infrastructure maps, and environmental data) to the front-end applications.
• PostGIS: An extension of PostgreSQL that enables spatial database functionality. PostGIS will allow for efficient storage and querying of geospatial data, providing the backbone for the app’s spatial data handling, including well logs, production data, and maintenance records.

This combination of React, React Native, MapLibre, Leaflet, OpenLayers, Turf.js, GeoServer, and PostGIS represents a modern, scalable, and flexible tech stack that’s ideally suited for developing interactive, data-driven GIS applications in the oil and gas industry.

UX-First Design: For Web, Tablet, and Mobile

One of the biggest challenges in oil and gas software is that it is often built by technical people for other technical users, without considering the end-user experience. This has resulted in clunky, unintuitive interfaces that are difficult to navigate, especially in the field where ease of use is critical.

My approach focuses on UX-first design across all platforms—web, tablet, and mobile. The goal is to create solutions that are streamlined, intuitive, and responsive. This isn’t just about making things look good; it’s about ensuring that users can complete their tasks efficiently and effectively in the field, whether they’re using a tablet for inspections or accessing detailed data on a web dashboard.

Key elements of the UX strategy include:

• Tablet-first design: Creating interfaces specifically for field workers using tablets, ensuring that mobile users aren’t dealing with cumbersome, web-based interfaces.
• Streamlined data visualization: Using interactive maps and clean, data-driven visualizations to display oil well performance, maintenance schedules, and other key metrics.
• Offline capabilities: Ensuring that the tablet versions of the apps can function without a constant internet connection, a crucial feature for remote fieldwork.
• Responsive web apps: Developing web interfaces that work seamlessly across devices, allowing office-based users to access detailed data and generate reports without friction.

A Year of GIS-Based Prototypes and Exploration

This one-year project will result in the creation of several GIS-based prototypes, each designed to address specific needs within the oil and gas industry. While the Oil Well Tracker App is the first, here are some of the other apps I’ll be working on:

• Facilities and Emissions Web Dashboard: A responsive dashboard to visualize emissions data, track environmental performance, and monitor compliance in real-time.
• Facilities Inspection Mobile App: A mobile-first app to streamline field inspections, capture photos, track asset conditions, and geolocate inspection data.
• Alberta Energy Dashboard: A public-facing dashboard to aggregate and visualize key datasets on Alberta’s energy sector, including oil production, infrastructure, and regulatory data.
• Field Asset Explorer Mobile App: A mobile app to help field workers search, locate, and manage infrastructure assets, with an interactive map and real-time updates.

Each of these prototypes will leverage the same open-source tools and modern design principles, ensuring that user experience and GIS functionality remain central to the development process.

Join Me on the Learning Journey

This project is a learning journey as much as it is a development project. Throughout the year, I’ll be documenting my experiences with open-source GIS tools, modern application development, and UX design on LinkedIn. I’ll share insights, challenges, and progress updates as I experiment with new technologies and approaches to GIS in the oil and gas industry.

If you’re interested in GIS, open-source software, oil and gas technology, or digital transformation, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn and follow along with the journey.

The oil and gas industry is at the beginning of a long-overdue digital transformation. This is the perfect moment to build user-centric, GIS-based tools that not only leverage modern technology but also put the needs of the end user front and center. By combining open-source GIS tools, modern development frameworks, and UX-first design, I hope to contribute to a future where oil and gas software truly works for the people who rely on it most.

Let’s build this future together — one prototype at a time.