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Abstract The design of shale development pads with a high density of wells is driven out of a desire to become more efficient in the use of scarce infrastructure such as land, roads and pipelines and to more efficiently utilize drilling and completion resources. The pad designs and work flows for these hydraulically stimulated multistage horizontal wells have focused on reducing surface impacts while utilizing resources more efficiently by way of a manufacturing philosophy. These planning activities are significantly influenced by the team's perceptions of, versus the reality of, the reliability of equipment and processes demonstrated in the field operations. In the Horn River, the remote location and challenging technical environment meant that early drilling and completions projects were costly. The immediate focus in the play was to boost efficiency to improve the project economics. Increases in efficiency have two main goals: improving the results (or productivity) and/or reducing the capital cost. Moving to multi-well pads and inventorying wells to allow the move to 24 hr. completions operations had a profound impact on the unit cost of adding production in the basin. An examination of the changes in pad design and execution in the Horn River Basin over the past few years will show the evolution from �reactive' designs meant to mitigate reliability problems to proactive pad execution designs that take advantage of efficient, reliable processes. This paper will examine the original assumptions about technical and operational capability and initial thoughts about reliability and the resulting pad design and workflow decisions that followed. It will follow through several iterations in pad designs and site work flow in drilling, completions and logistical management. What the current experiences tell us about what the future may hold for these developments will also be discussed.