A 2-D heat and mass transfer finite element model based on the water potential concept was previously developed to simulate the evolution of moisture content and temperature in the cross section of a piece of lumber during drying. In order to be able to use the model with an industrial interest, an user interface was developed and the experimental parameters required for the model were determined for three Eastern softwood commercial species within the project no. 2674 Drytek Enhancement for Commercial Species. The user interface was developed using the MatLab development environment. It generates the mean drying and wood temperature curves, computes the maximum effective moisture content gradient and shows the evolution of the 2-D moisture content and temperature profiles during drying. The pressure membrane technique and equilibration over saturated salt solutions were used to determine the moisture content–water potential relationship at 30, 60 and 90oC for balsam fir sapwood and heartwood, black spruce heartwood and jack pine heartwood, in desorption from green to dry conditions. The instantaneous profile method was used to determine the effective water conductivity of the same species from 30 to 90oC in the three main directions: radial, tangential and longitudinal. Experimental determination of the parameters was initiated for white spruce sapwood and heartwood and will be available in a near future. Kiln drying tests of black spruce and balsam fir were performed in order to validate simulation results.