Team
Product Manager, Engineers and UX Researchers
Context
Improving the email sent from utilities to their customers when a bill is due.
Outcome
Refined, tested and delivered specs for a home energy analysis module within the email.
What's an E-bill?
Understanding the components of the e-bill communication.
1. Bill Amount The most important piece of information in the email.
2. Call to Action Providing a clear path to pay the bill is the most important function of this email. Any supporting information in the e-bill needed to be connected with the main action of paying a bill.
3. Marketing Module A place for utilities to connect customers with energy saving tips, or cost saving programs relevant to their situation.
4. Feedback Giving customers an easy way to say whether they found the email helpful.
What’s up with my bill? How people react to an eBill
Before adding another module to the eBill, I dove into Opower’s UX research archives to get a sense for the thought process of a customer receiving a bill.
Adding the Home Energy Analysis
Tweaking every piece of the home energy analysis to best fit within the eBill communication.
-
Content Strategy
Since most of the content in the e-bill is text, every piece of information had to be phrased as clearly as possible.
-
Presenting Data
Exploring ways to present the data contained in a home energy analysis.
-
Understanding Context
What content will exist around the home energy analysis, and how can they interact in a way that provides value to people?
Testing the Home Energy Analysis
Working with Opower's UX research team, I contributed to the planning and analysis of a 23 person user testing session.
Testing Insights
People generally skim, not read. Expecting people to read small text to understand the nuances of the home energy analysis was not a reasonable task to expect people glancing at an email to accomplish.
Don't introduce doubt. While the home energy analysis is generated from an algorithm that is not perfect, people generally accept the data, unless a word like 'estimate' is used.
Additional info should explain the cost. People read the e-bill to learn about why their costs are higher or lower than average.
Final Designs
Delivering specs for the first iteration of the home energy analysis.
Home Energy Analysis Elements
1. Title and Insight Gives readers a quick understanding of the largest category of energy use in their home.
2. Pie Chart Visually reinforces the insight above while showing the general distribution of energy use.
3. Legend Allows readers to see the percentage of all their home energy use.
4. Info Text Based on testing insights, the explanation of how the analysis is created was deemphasized in the hierarchy.
5. Surrounding Elements Provided recommendations for what type of information paired well with the home energy analysis, as well as directions for future modules to provide even more explanation about the bill.
