Background

The Government of Canada procured a fleet of 16 new search and rescue aircraft for the Canadian Armed Forces, replacing aging legacy fleets with a modern, technologically advanced aircraft. Supporting the transition required a new generation of software for the crews responsible for maintaining and operating the new fleet.

Hired by Avanade, I joined the program as the sole UX lead, working directly with engineering subject-matter experts and aircraft maintenance teams to define highly technical operational workflows.

My role spanned both design and guidance: for some workflows I designed the screens directly, for others I defined the pattern and interaction logic (for example, when a task called for a modal versus a full page, or how a multi-step process like uninstalling a part should be broken into stages) and worked with the team to carry it into the application.

One of sixteen C295 aircraft procured by the Federal Government. Photo credit: Airbus

Discovery and field context

Before any design work began, I spent time with the project's head aircraft engineer to understand operational workflows and environments. What emerged was a clear picture of a high-pressure environment where precision and clarity are non-negotiable.

Work takes place in strictly regulated settings where every action must be logged and traceable.

Deadlines are tight, even small delays can impact fleet readiness.

Accurate inventory data is critical for quickly locating and installing the right parts.

Coordination across roles is constant, with each person carrying unique responsibilities.

Delivered interfaces

Organizing a catalogue of aircraft components and configurations

The Inventory module provides a centralized catalogue of all allowed nodes and parts in the system, defining what components can exist within an aircraft configuration and how they relate to one another. Users can then trace those components through their installation history, seeing where a part has been installed, removed, or replaced across aircraft and over time.

Turning modification directives into a clear, trackable process

A Service Bulletin is a document issued by a component manufacturer to describe a modification, inspection, replacement, or other technical procedure that should be performed on an aircraft. I designed the Service Bulletin module around the questions maintenance teams need to answer: What is changing? What configuration changes are required? And has the work been completed? The interface transforms a complex engineering record into a workflow teams can understand and act on.

Giving operations teams a single source of truth for the fleet

Operations teams needed to understand the status of all 16 aircraft at a glance, availability, configuration state, and maintenance history, without digging into individual records. I defined the information hierarchy and interaction patterns for the overview page, working with engineering SMEs to determine which details operators needed to see immediately versus on demand, then partnered with the team to bring that structure into the application.

Outcome

My contribution was bridging the gap between highly complex technical requirements and an interface that maintenance operators could rely on with confidence, extracting domain knowledge from the ground up and translating it into software built for a high-pressure, regulated environment where every action is critical.

The fleet entered operational service in May 2025, nearly a decade after the contract was first awarded. The software I helped design is part of the infrastructure supporting that mission, keeping Canada's search and rescue aircraft ready to respond across the country.