Case study · PTC Innovation
Design Innovation
AR and IoT at the edge of what was possible.
Four projects. One through-line.
Every project here sits at the same intersection: complex physical operations, the people who run them, and technology that could make their work less hard. The form factor changed (factory floor, elevator shaft, HoloLens, iPad), but the design challenge was always the same: make something genuinely new feel immediately useful.
Project 2 of 4
Otis Elevators
Onsite, in context: AR work instructions for elevator installers.
The Otis sprint started with something most design sprints skip: we went onsite. We visited a large active construction site in Boston and spent time with elevator installers, observing their work, understanding how they navigate complex installation sequences, and seeing firsthand how they locate and manage materials across a job site.
What we found was a documentation and orientation problem. Installers work from complex technical documents in physically demanding environments where reading a manual is not practical. Materials are distributed across large sites and tracking them down costs real time.
The prototype we built used AR to deliver step-by-step work instructions anchored to the physical installation context, and IoT-enabled material location that let workers find components without searching.
Project video
Site visit
A day onsite at a Boston construction project observing elevator installers at work. Understanding the actual environment (the noise, the physical demands, the way information needs to flow) before designing anything.
AR work instructions + material location
A prototype combining AR-delivered work instructions (step-by-step guidance anchored to the physical installation) with IoT-enabled material tracking. Find the part, follow the steps, without taking your eyes off the work.
What sprint work teaches you that nothing else does.
These projects shaped how I think about design process in ways that are hard to replicate in a normal product cycle. A week is an incredibly clarifying constraint. You cannot over-research, over-design, or over-polish. You have to make decisions with incomplete information and commit to them. That muscle, confident decision-making under real constraints, is one of the most valuable things a designer can develop.
The onsite work at Otis also reinforced something I had learned in factory visits for DPM: you cannot design well for a physical environment you have never been in. Reading about elevator installation is not the same as standing on a construction site watching it happen. Context is not optional.
And Elements AR reminded me that designing for delight is a skill, not a given. Enterprise work trains you to prioritize clarity and efficiency. EdTech work trains you to make something that makes someone smile. Both matter. The best products do both.