CHALLENGE
Our client had a vision for an on-the-go digital interface that users could access in order to monitor their energy usage and behaviour, as well as their VPP performance and status over time.
Some features were conceptualized, but without market validation and extensive user research, there was no clear indication for how specific these features needed to be, or if they were needed at all.
RETROSPECTIVE
TAKEAWAYS 🎯
Broadened Horizons
Improvement with Research
Confidence Boost
Broadened Horizons
Improvement with Research
Confidence Boost
The final solution
In the final two weeks leading up to the showcase for this project, I worked diligently on completing the prototype that would be shared with both our client and our other peers. There were multiple feedback sessions held with both our client and mentors, with each session contributing to minor improvements that I was able to make before the final deadline.
The final product was eventually presented to an audience of ~80 people, including our client and mentors. I was able to speak on the design decisions I made with confidence, and our project was well-received by everyone in attendance.
So, how was this addressed?
Following a phased progression for the duration of this project, our team worked diligently to gather insights and develop strategies for our client to approach the development of this project. Our marketing expert and PMs played to their strengths excellently.
Being the sole UX Designer on the team, I took the following approaches:
Providing input on the best questions to ask for research
Generating insights from the data that was being collected
Translating the data and insights into designs that aligned with the client’s branding and goals
Elaborating the rationale behind my designs to the PMs, so that they could also speak on it in confidence while we held meetings with our client
OUTCOME
After a month of successful collaboration, along with trial and error, long feedback sessions, and many questions asked, our team was able to successfully present LYNQ as a MVP in the form of an early working prototype for our client.
We were able to fulfill their requirements by providing a solid foundation for a solution to the problem they were aiming to solve. This prototype was eventually passed on as a point of reference for a new cohort of designers, product managers, and marketers to be further iterated upon.
WHERE DID WE START?
During the project kickoff, our client provided us with a deeper understanding of our likely end-users:
The residential market was the target at the time this work was conducted, so homeowners were the primary audience.
The goal from here was to branch out, if not simultaneously cater to, the commercial and industrial sector.
RESEARCH and discovery
With this information, research was then conducted within the target demographic of our client. From a sample size of 14 respondents through a survey we distributed, I utilized Miro to dissect the data we received to make the information digestible not just for me, but for my team as well. After analyzing the data, we were able to generate the insights found below.
From here, we were able to generate a proto-persona that would likely reflect the end-users for our client in the residential market.
This user would have likely been an individual established in their professional career; an environmentally conscious homeowner within a threshold of income that could ideally sustain a VPP system if installed.
After combing through the data and crafting our persona of the ideal user within our target audience, we were in a position where a hypothesis could be made in relation to how our end-users would likely interact with the product we were designing:
We believe that residential homeowners will use an intuitive interface for monitoring their energy and savings data, which would lead to more efficient energy management decisions and higher satisfaction.
Ideation
Following a rough brand guideline provided to us by the client, I began working on early iterations of what the interface would eventually end up looking like.
After some deliberation, I made the decision to make the home page and the VPP View interchangeable for the user through the click of a toggle button.
This was intentional as I kept in mind the insights we gathered from our research, in which our respondents indicated they wanted real-time energy usage and savings displayed as a high-priority feature, while also being straightforward rather than complex.
This decision would fulfill our user needs while also eliminating the undesired length of navigation within the app.
constraints
"One Man Army"
Speaking an Alien Language
Summertime Schedule
"One Man Army"
Speaking an Alien Language
Summertime Schedule
Crafting the experience
Based on the wireframes that I made during the early stages of ideation, I built the high fidelity iterations of LYNQ, while adhering to the brand guideline that was provided to us. I kept the layout clean and simple, so that our users would be able to read and interpret the data presented to them with ease.
As previously mentioned in the ideation section, the users would be able to switch between the standard home page view (middle) and the VPP view (right).
This separated the data to make it distinguishable, while allowing for the real-time observation of both financial savings and energy distribution data without having to navigate to a different page on the app, which would lengthen the user flow.
RETROSPECTIVE
TAKEAWAYS 🎯
Broadened Horizons
Improved Research
Confidence Boost
Broadened Horizons
Improved Research
Confidence Boost
The final solution
In the final two weeks leading up to the showcase for this project, I worked diligently on completing the prototype that would be shared with both our client and our other peers. There were multiple feedback sessions held with both our client and mentors, with each session contributing to minor improvements that I was able to make before the final deadline.
The final product was eventually presented to an audience of ~80 people, including our client and mentors. I was able to speak on the design decisions I made with confidence, and our project was well-received by everyone in attendance.
constraints
"One Man Army"
Speaking an Alien Language
Summertime Schedule
"One Man Army"
Speaking an Alien Language
Summertime Schedule
Crafting the experience
Based on the wireframes that I made during the early stages of ideation, I built the high fidelity iterations of LYNQ, while adhering to the brand guideline that was provided to us. I kept the layout clean and simple, so that our users would be able to read and interpret the data presented to them with ease.
As previously mentioned in the ideation section, the users would be able to switch between the standard home page view (middle) and the VPP view (right).
This separated the data to make it distinguishable, while allowing for the real-time observation of both financial savings and energy distribution data without having to navigate to a different page on the app, which would lengthen the user flow.
Ideation
Following a rough brand guideline provided to us by the client, I began working on early iterations of what the interface would eventually end up looking like.
After some deliberation, I made the decision to make the home page and the VPP View interchangeable for the user through the click of a toggle button.
This was intentional as I kept in mind the insights we gathered from our research, in which our respondents indicated they wanted real-time energy usage and savings displayed as a high-priority feature, while also being straightforward rather than complex.
This decision would fulfill our user needs while also eliminating the undesired length of navigation within the app.
RESEARCH and discovery
With this information, research was then conducted within the target demographic of our client. From a sample size of 14 respondents through a survey we distributed, I utilized Miro to dissect the data we received to make the information digestible not just for me, but for my team as well. After analyzing the data, we were able to generate the insights found below.
From here, we were able to generate a proto-persona that would likely reflect the end-users for our client in the residential market.
This user would have likely been an individual established in their professional career; an environmentally conscious homeowner within a threshold of income that could ideally sustain a VPP system if installed.
After combing through the data and crafting our persona of the ideal user within our target audience, we were in a position where a hypothesis could be made in relation to how our end-users would likely interact with the product we were designing:
We believe that residential homeowners will use an intuitive interface for monitoring their energy and savings data, which would lead to more efficient energy management decisions and higher satisfaction.
WHERE DID WE START?
During the project kickoff, our client provided us with a deeper understanding of our likely end-users:
The residential market was the target at the time this work was conducted, so homeowners were the primary audience.
The goal from here was to branch out, if not simultaneously cater to, the commercial and industrial sector.
OUTCOME
After a month of successful collaboration, along with trial and error, long feedback sessions, and many questions asked, our team was able to successfully present LYNQ as a MVP in the form of an early working prototype for our client.
We were able to fulfill their requirements by providing a solid foundation for a solution to the problem they were aiming to solve. This prototype was eventually passed on as a point of reference for a new cohort of designers, product managers, and marketers to be further iterated upon.
So, how was this addressed?
Following a phased progression for the duration of this project, our team worked diligently to gather insights and develop strategies for our client to approach the development of this project. Our marketing expert and PMs played to their strengths excellently.
Being the sole UX Designer on the team, I took the following approaches:
Providing input on the best questions to ask for research
Generating insights from the data that was being collected
Translating the data and insights into designs that aligned with the client’s branding and goals
Elaborating the rationale behind my designs to the PMs, so that they could also speak on it in confidence while we held meetings with our client
CHALLENGE
Our client had a vision for an on-the-go digital interface that users could access in order to monitor their energy usage and behaviour, as well as their VPP performance and status over time.
Some features were conceptualized, but without market validation and extensive user research, there was no clear indication for how specific these features needed to be, or if they were needed at all.
DETAILS
Client
Massif Energy
Who I worked with
Ben Isaac
Product Manager
Olu Ladenika
Product Manager
Ofure Adeyeye
Product Manager
Shweta Mirani
Product Marketer
WHAT I USED
Figma
Google Suite
Timeline
Jun - July 2024
Product Design
What I did
Research & Analysis
ROLE
UX Designer
UX Researcher
CONTEXT
Founded with the goal of changing Alberta's energy landscape, Massif Energy's mission was to provide Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) of individual batteries that would act within an aggregated network, providing their clientele with affordable, clean, and resilient energy.
As part of an accelerated bootcamp program for Product Managers organized by SAIT, Product Calgary and Tacit Edge, I was invited to join as a UX Designer to assist in product design for startup clients that would be working with the cohort of PMs in the bootcamp. Over the course of a month, we turned our client’s conceptual idea into an early working prototype that would assist in their business plan.
LYNQ
The VPP companion for home and business owners.
LYNQ
The VPP companion for home and business owners.
DETAILS
WHAT I USED
Figma
Google Suite
ROLE
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Client
Massif Energy
Who I worked with
Ben Isaac
Product Manager
Olu Ladenika
Product Manager
Ofure Adeyeye
Product Manager
Shweta Mirani
Product Marketer
What I did
Product Design
Research & Analysis
Timeline
Jun - July 2024
CONTEXT
Founded with the goal of changing Alberta's energy landscape, Massif Energy's mission was to provide Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) of individual batteries that would act within an aggregated network, providing their clientele with affordable, clean, and resilient energy.
As part of an accelerated bootcamp program for Product Managers organized by SAIT, Product Calgary and Tacit Edge, I was invited to join as a UX Designer to assist in product design for startup clients that would be working with the cohort of PMs in the bootcamp. Over the course of a month, we turned our client’s conceptual idea into an early working prototype that would assist in their business plan.
CHALLENGE
Our client had a vision for an on-the-go digital interface that users could access in order to monitor their energy usage and behaviour, as well as their VPP performance and status over time.
Some features were conceptualized, but without market validation and extensive user research, there was no clear indication for how specific these features needed to be, or if they were needed at all.
So, how was this addressed?
Following a phased progression for the duration of this project, our team worked diligently to gather insights and develop strategies for our client to approach the development of this project. Our marketing expert and PMs played to their strengths excellently.
Being the sole UX Designer on the team, I took the following approaches:
Providing input on the best questions to ask for research
Generating insights from the data that was being collected
Translating the data and insights into designs that aligned with the client’s branding and goals
Elaborating the rationale behind my designs to the PMs, so that they could also speak on it in confidence while we held meetings with our client
OUTCOME
After a month of successful collaboration, along with trial and error, long feedback sessions, and many questions asked, our team was able to successfully present LYNQ as a MVP in the form of an early working prototype for our client.
We were able to fulfill their requirements by providing a solid foundation for a solution to the problem they were aiming to solve. This prototype was eventually passed on as a point of reference for a new cohort of designers, product managers, and marketers to be further iterated upon.
WHERE DID WE START?
During the project kickoff, our client provided us with a deeper understanding of our likely end-users:
The residential market was the target at the time this work was conducted, so homeowners were the primary audience.
The goal from here was to branch out, if not simultaneously cater to, the commercial and industrial sector.
RESEARCH and discovery
With this information, research was then conducted within the target demographic of our client. From a sample size of 14 respondents through a survey we distributed, I utilized Miro to dissect the data we received to make the information digestible not just for me, but for my team as well. After analyzing the data, we were able to generate the insights found below.
From here, we were able to generate a proto-persona that would likely reflect the end-users for our client in the residential market.
This user would have likely been an individual established in their professional career; an environmentally conscious homeowner within a threshold of income that could ideally sustain a VPP system if installed.
After combing through the data and crafting our persona of the ideal user within our target audience, we were in a position where a hypothesis could be made in relation to how our end-users would likely interact with the product we were designing:
We believe that residential homeowners will use an intuitive interface for monitoring their energy and savings data, which would lead to more efficient energy management decisions and higher satisfaction.
Ideation
Following a rough brand guideline provided to us by the client, I began working on early iterations of what the interface would eventually end up looking like.
After some deliberation, I made the decision to make the home page and the VPP View interchangeable for the user through the click of a toggle button.
This was intentional as I kept in mind the insights we gathered from our research, in which our respondents indicated they wanted real-time energy usage and savings displayed as a high-priority feature, while also being straightforward rather than complex.
This decision would fulfill our user needs while also eliminating the undesired length of navigation within the app.
constraints
"One Man Army"
Speaking an Alien Language
Summertime Schedule
Crafting the experience
Based on the wireframes that I made during the early stages of ideation, I built the high fidelity iterations of LYNQ, while adhering to the brand guideline that was provided to us. I kept the layout clean and simple, so that our users would be able to read and interpret the data presented to them with ease.
As previously mentioned in the ideation section, the users would be able to switch between the standard home page view (middle) and the VPP view (right).
This separated the data to make it distinguishable, while allowing for the real-time observation of both financial savings and energy distribution data without having to navigate to a different page on the app, which would lengthen the user flow.
The final solution
In the final two weeks leading up to the showcase for this project, I worked diligently on completing the prototype that would be shared with both our client and our other peers. There were multiple feedback sessions held with both our client and mentors, with each session contributing to minor improvements that I was able to make before the final deadline.
The final product was eventually presented to an audience of ~80 people, including our client and mentors. I was able to speak on the design decisions I made with confidence, and our project was well-received by everyone in attendance.
RETROSPECTIVE
TAKEAWAYS 🎯
Broadened Horizons
Improvement with Research
Confidence Boost
LYNQ
The VPP companion for home and business owners.
LYNQ
The VPP companion for home and business owners.
DETAILS
WHAT I USED
Figma
Google Suite
ROLE
UX Designer
UX Researcher
CLIENT
Massif Energy
Timeline
Jun - July 2024
Who I worked with
Ben Isaac
Product Manager
Olu Ladenika
Product Manager
Ofure Adeyeye
Product Manager
Shweta Mirani
Product Marketer
Research & Analysis
What I did
Product Design
CONTEXT
Founded with the goal of changing Alberta's energy landscape, Massif Energy's mission was to provide Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) of individual batteries that would act within an aggregated network, providing their clientele with affordable, clean, and resilient energy.
As part of an accelerated bootcamp program for Product Managers organized by SAIT, Product Calgary and Tacit Edge, I was invited to join as a UX Designer to assist in product design for startup clients that would be working with the cohort of PMs in the bootcamp. Over the course of a month, we turned our client’s conceptual idea into an early working prototype that would assist in their business plan.