One became Two
In the dynamic world of user experience (UX) design, I took on the challenge of making a complex task more straightforward: helping customers switch between different energy account types. This case study highlights my role as a workshop leader, dedicated to creating a user-centric solution that simplifies the process for our customers.
Problem
The current process of switching from Single fuel to Dual or adding a New connection to our energy accounts is causing delays, uncertainties, customer complaints, and increased costs for the business. Given the competition in the industry, it is crucial that our onboarding process is quick, easy and seamless.
Solution
Create a real-time application designed to empower our customers to self-serve and effortlessly switch from single-fuel to dual-fuel, avoiding the need for waiting on the phone or dealing with complicated processes.
Outcome
While the "One Became Two" project didn’t make development, due to the sale of the business. It demonstrated its potential impact. Even individuals unfamiliar with UX are recognising its value. The project has underscored the importance of early communication about technical considerations to prevent roadblocks later on.
Challenges
The initial challenge was navigating diverse perspectives of stakeholders, including SMEs, product owners, and developers. Each group had its own priorities, making alignment a formidable task.
To tackle this challenge, I designed a workshop structure that encouraged open dialogue and collaboration. We utilised specific exercises to ensure that every stakeholder's input was considered, breaking down the silos of individual perspectives.
Workshop
Alignment & Discovery
The mission of this session was to foster collaboration and alignment on our shared objectives—a crucial step towards success. We delved deep into the problem space, pooling all our knowledge and insights. We examined the data, explored the customer and agent experiences, assessed the tools in use, and analysed previous documents detailing the issue.
Identifying our stakeholders was pivotal, and then we asked ourselves the vital questions: What problem are we truly solving? What's the impact of this problem? And most importantly, how can we fix it? We carefully defined the boundaries of our scope and discussed how we would measure success.
This comprehensive exercise laid the foundation for our POV (Point of View) statement, setting the stage for our second session. Together, we're embarking on a journey of transformation and innovation, driven by our collective vision.
Empathise and define
In this session, the goal was to immerse ourselves in the customer journey map, truly stepping into our users' shoes. By doing so, the team gained valuable insights that would drive our approach.
Once I guided the team through the customer journey map, we didn't stop there. The next step was to delve deeper into the current service blueprint, ensuring a holistic view of the entire journey. This allowed us to identify gaps and uncover exciting opportunities to enhance our services.
Next, armed with our compelling POV (Point of View), I guided the team to explore the critical question: "How might we?" This enabled us to reframe the problems and set the stage for innovative solutions.
With clarity on the main themes, we then put pen to paper, capturing "What's the problem?" in concise and powerful statements. By doing this it helped the team to have a focused approach keeping us aligned on the key challenges throughout the process.
But we didn't stop there. We proactively addressed potential roadblocks by asking, "What will stop us?" Using a "Can we" framework, we posed questions that kept us sharp and ready to overcome any obstacles.
These guiding principles served through the rest of the workshops
Ideate
Aligning stakeholders on shared objectives and the scope of the project was an ongoing challenge. Resistance to change, with frequent expressions like "We can't do that" or "It can't work like that," added complexity.
In response, I encouraged the team to adopted a "How might we?" approach to encourage innovative thinking and challenge limiting beliefs. The "North Star experience" exercise sparked imagination and pushed boundaries, breaking down any mental barriers, and erasing the words "we can't" from our vocabulary.
The goal was to open our minds to infinite possibilities, unleashing the potential to redefine what's possible.
Next, we gathered competitor analysis to draw inspiration from the best in the industry. Armed with fresh ideas, it was time to dive into lightning demos, where the team sketched out eight ideas in just eight minutes. Creativity flowed, and the energy was electric!
From these fantastic sketches, I carefully selected the most promising pieces, blending them with the requirements we gathered.
The result? A groundbreaking first iteration of our self-serve journey.
Playback
Driven by the outcome of the ideation session, I dived into crafting the first designs, ensuring all requirements were meticulously reflected in the designs.
To ensure our stakeholders were fully aligned, I facilitated a collaborative session, where I played back the designs together. The feedback was positive, and stakeholders were impressed with the clarity and creativity of the designs. Providing some insightful suggestions to elevate them even further.
Implementing these small but significant amendments, based on the valuable input from our stakeholders. The designs were now ready for testing with real users.
Usability testing
I lead usability tests by creating a detailed test plan and booking participants through Testing Time, our trusted third-party platform. To ensure the test plan was right, I conducted a mock run with another UX designer, refining the questions, flow, and prototype links.
As I embarked on the usability test with 4 participants, I reached out to other UX designers to assist with note-taking and capture observations. The sessions consisted of in-depth interview questions to gain insights into the problem space, followed by a thorough usability test on the prototype.
The feedback I received was positive, but I didn't stop there. I collected all key points and transcribed the recordings, delving deeper into the insights gained. Based on this valuable feedback, I made some small yet impactful changes to the designs, fine-tuning them.
“I’m surprised that my current supplier information is shown, this saves me time, I like this!”
Finalised Designs
Following our design guidelines and design system, allowed me to focus on the layout of the UI along with applying design principles and best practices.
The thought process behind the visual design was to:
Use different type sizes and weights creating hierarchy to help customers flow naturally and guide them through the information on the pages, along with adding emphasis to important information.
Using alignment for legibility makes it easier for customers to consume the information
Lines to divide content, reducing cognitive load and helping understand which content was grouped.
The use of icons where relevant enhances the usability of the interface to provide users with immediate visual cues.
Providing vital information at the top of the ‘Your switch’ page informing our customers what is happening, and any actions needed from our customers.
Key Learnings
Reflecting on this journey, I've learned the power of simplicity and early communication. These elements foster creativity and pave the way for improvements benefiting both customers and our team. The "One Became Two" project demonstrates how UX design can enhance user experiences, and I'm proud to have led this effort.
This case study not only highlights my role as a workshop leader but also showcases the transformative potential of UX design in simplifying complex processes and delivering meaningful results for both customers and businesses.
“Being new in this role, I had no idea what UX did or was, after being in these workshops it’s really shown me, why we need UX, I thoroughly enjoyed them!”