Defining a New HMI Standard for Grundfos
Grundfos wanted to bring the Multi Pump Controller into a new digital generation across three connected touchpoints: the controller HMI, GO Remote and GO Link. The ambition was not only to update the interface, but to define Grundfos’ first touch-based HMI with a future proof product design.
What began as a project to define the direction for UX across touchpoints, quickly evolved once user research revealed fundamental issues: service technicians struggled with navigation, data was difficult to access, and the purpose of controller, app and PC tool were not always clear. As a result, the project expanded to involve redesign of features, information structure, screen flows and UI of approximately 420 screens. A big challenge in this project was also to find the right hardware with the right HMI screen size to create a long-lasting solution, where supply and price are crucial to meeting demand.
“The entire collaboration with Design People—from the initial kick-off through user testing and final implementation—was outstanding. They quickly understood what we wanted to achieve across both HMI and apps and were excellent at translating user feedback and pain points into tangible mockups. These were iteratively tested and refined with users until we arrived at a final UI design ready for implementation. Overall, it was a highly effective process that helped us gain deeper insight into our customers’ needs and ultimately deliver a significantly better product.”
The research phase made it clear that users generally trusted the MPC and found it robust and fairly easy to operate, however they used it in very specific ways which conflicted with the way the original navigation was structured. Service technicians described commissioning as a practical workflow of checking valves, power, rotation, alarms and pressure settings, often relying on the startup wizard and only adjusting a few key parameters. Operators and facility managers, meanwhile, used the system mostly for status checks, alarms, power use and monthly reporting rather for daily configuration. These findings gave a clear overview of real workflows, which could be translated into better navigation structures. Across interviews, users asked for clearer alarm prioritisation, easier access to data, and better visual support without losing operational clarity.
The project combined user interviews, project planning workshops, ongoing work meetings and cross-functional collaboration with Grundfos throughout the design process. Outputs included mapping of user experience, wireframes on new HMI, clickable prototypes in InVision, flow mapping in Overflow, animation in ProtoPie, final UI in Sketch and component documentation in the Grundfos design system. In practice, this meant moving iteratively from insight gathering and service workflow mapping, into concrete interface concepts and then into implementation-ready design.
The result was not only a more modern interface, but a more coherent product experience built around the realities of commissioning, troubleshooting and day-to-day operation. By grounding the design work in concrete user behaviour, the project helped define a digital standard for Grundfos’ touch-based HMI experience.
Grundfos involved Design-People In a later iteration to reshape the main dashboard of the HMI. Because of new wishes and needs from Grundfos’ internal UX department, Design-People took the main dashboard from a static pump overview to a dynamic isometrical overview of the whole pump system. This gave the users an easier and faster way to troubleshoot at a glance. This is the design you see today.
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