PacificLight

Research

Firstly, we analysed websites by existing competitors by examining their products’ features. We did a comparative competitor analysis to see the offerings and drilled down to the number of registration steps each company has on their websites.

Roadshows

In an effort to raise awareness of Open Electricity Market, roadshows were held at the heartlands within the western part of Singapore to make known to the public of the different retailers they could purchase from.

Personas

With the necessary information collected through the surveys, we synthesised these data and created personas with user background, environment, end goals and scenario.

In the end, we settled with two personas; Andrew (Sales Manager) and Cheryl (Housewife) as they reflect our defined target audience.

Journey Mapping

To facilitate a common understanding of the personas’ perception, we developed journey maps to let stakeholders have a glimpse of what customers perceive when they interact with the product.

Using Cheryl as an example, we see how these perceptions were split into different touchpoints that happen across multiple channels in a step-by-step process. We considered the steps, touchpoints, channels, thoughts & emotions and potential ideas that can happen during each step.

Prioritisation

Having defined the backlog, we prioritised the features upon speaking with stakeholders. Using the personas as a guide, we came up with stories to shape the features of the product.

Ideation / Lo-fi Prototyping

Moving on, we started ideating by sketching variations of wireframes.

Concurrently, we went through our research findings and dissected the sign up forms of existing competitors’ websites.

We looked beyond what competitors do and assessed case studies and form-based platforms such as dating websites. From there, we found an example of how they emphasised on step-by-step singular questions and we realised that may be applicable as the MVP launch would only be catering to selected areas. This also aligned to our research of implementing a multi-step form (here and here) and the usage of Hick’s Law, which states that,

"The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices."

This also firms up our hypothesis on how we wanted to simplify choices for users by breaking down tasks into smaller steps and onboard them progressively to reduce cognitive load for new users.

We examined each of its priority and restructured its order, going through rounds of iteration upon receiving feedback from stakeholders before moving to the user flow.

User Flow

As we refined and synthesised our ideas, we progressed to user flow concurrently to define the tasks of each page. We used the journey maps to guide us as we expanded on the ideas to develop key points to navigate the user throughout the pages, primarily the sign up portal.

Hi-Fi Prototyping

Upon validating with business, we moved onto high fidelity prototyping , refining its design to move a step further to implementation.

Additionally, we developed a simplified UI style guide so that developers have a reference when it comes to building the website.

Usability Testing

Upon implementation, usability tests were conducted with 6x shortlisted interviewees who declared their interest for this session during the roadshow. Having predefined the user journey from the perspectives of our created personas, the goal was to further test and assess learning behaviours.